


Spiritual Successor

by VGS2_the_Sexy_Sausage



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Backstory, Dare, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, LEWD, Legendary Pokemon, Lemon, Mystery, POV Pokemon, Poetry, Porn With Plot, Romance, Sad, Shinoh-chihou | Sinnoh, Slice of Life, bet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-16 10:14:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 75,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21506203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VGS2_the_Sexy_Sausage/pseuds/VGS2_the_Sexy_Sausage
Summary: Beloved by all he knows, Pikachu one day finds himself upsetting a lot of people with a simple stroll away from home. Just how will they be able to cope with his sudden absence?Contains PikaBun fluff, lewdness and drama!
Relationships: Hikari's Mimirol | Dawn's Buneary/Satoshi's Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9
Collections: Lagomorphshipping





	1. The Bonds That Grew

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't forget to drop me a comment! Both friendly ones and critical ones are appreciated, though I'll take anything you've got! :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arc I: It's An Alright Life

Enjoying the summer air against his fur, Pikachu giggled with his friends as they raced each other across the grassy fields. Eventually, coming across the peak of a huge hill, the various pokémon cried in excitement as they dived down it.

Their momentum increased while they slid down the grassy slope, as well as their laughter. Drawing close to the foot of the hill, a huge pile of shredded grass flew in, landing below them. Their fall was cushioned as their momentum was stopped dead. Their joy, however, kept going. Even as they had to spit out clumps of grass.

Smiling, Pikachu gazed at his friends, who were still recovering from the sudden stop. He hadn't known them for very long, but he appreciated any and all friends he made.

"[That was so _fuuun!_ ]" a cubone shouted, poking his head out of the grass.

"[Heck yeah!]" a growlithe agreed, excitedly shuddering so hard that the grass was pouring off him. "[I wish every day was this fun!]"

"[You and me, both!]" an oddish added. She looked at Pikachu. "[Too bad you're not staying for very long, huh?]"

Pikachu's smile dwindled slightly. "[Yeah… gotta go back, and all that silly jazz.]" He turned around to look at the other pikachu. He burst into a fit of chuckles when he saw the mouse's butt sticking out of the grass, into the air.

Eventually, the other pikachu managed to free his head, though not without looking dazed. "[Ughh, what day is it…?]" he asked, slumping down.

"[Still today, thankfully!]" Pikachu remarked amusedly. "[So we'd better get some more playing time in while we can!]"

The pikachu shook his head clear and grinned. "[Alright, neat!]"

Pikachu grinned back at him. It was super cool, actually. Their looks, their voices… heck, even their **smells** were so similar! He wondered if they were secret twins, or something.

It was a shame the pikachu wouldn't be able to come along with Pikachu, but oh well. Maybe they could meet up again, someday!

He heard a familiar voice above him. Oh, speaking of which…!

He angled his head upwards. Against the blue sky, he saw an airborne pokémon, silhouetted by the sun's rays. Even though he couldn't see her clearly, he knew exactly who it was.

He waved up towards the flying pokémon before turning back to his friends. "[Guys, it's-!]" he started. He paused upon noticing he was suddenly alone. "[… Guys?]" He looked around. "[W-Where are ya?]"

He got nothing in response.

Growing worried, he began to dig through the grass. "[C'mon, guys, you can come out now!]" he called out. "[It's not funny anymore, y'know…!]" Growing frustrated, he bat his paws against the grass.

Suddenly, the grass glowed purple and flew into his face. Quickly rubbing it away, he gasped at the new sight in front of him. All the grass was gone without a trace… as well as his friends.

Panicking, he could feel his breaths grow quick and heavy. What the heck was going on!?

He made a move to investigate the area, but a strange sound from above caught his attention. Gazing upwards, he saw the flying pokémon from before. She wasn't alone, however; bright lights were flashing across the sky, almost as if trying to hit the pokémon.

Pikachu could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage at the sight. Upon yelling her name, the flashing lights ceased, much to his surprise. His panic returned when he saw something else happen, however.

Instead of white lights filling the beautiful blue sky… the entirety of the air above became blanketed by a humongous net. One that was rapidly coming closer.

Pikachu screeched in horror. Especially as the giant net began grazing the top of the hill he'd slid down only minutes ago.

Just as it was about to fall on top of him, the flying pokémon came down, grabbed him, and…

… An unpleasantly cold sensation washed over him, causing the world to instantly white out...

* * *

Pikachu gasped and shot up, spluttering. "[W-What the Hell…!?]" he shouted, feeling at his face. He frantically looked around at the blurry world around him, wondering what the frick was going on. Where was he!? Where was that net and the flying pokémon!? Was he in the same grassy field as the one he was in, before!? Was… Was he covered in water?

He heard similar noises of distress to his side. Looking, he could barely make out Ash - still in his sleeping bag - shoot up into a seated position. His face was noticeably drenched in water, too. " _Oh no, not the starter pokémon! Ah!"_ he screamed. Pausing, he looked around. "… Wait, where am I?"

Suddenly, Pikachu heard feminine giggling from above. "Alright, they're up! Good work, Piplup!" Dawn praised.

Pikachu blinked. Shortly afterwards, upon seeing Piplup's smug face, he frowned. Of course… all a dream.

"[Hah! That is what you two slugabeds get!]" Piplup remarked, flippers on hips. "[None can stay asleep when I use my amazing Whirlpool!]"

Pachirisu, who was beside him, giggled. "[You're the best wake-er up-er!]" he praised.

The penguin proudly rubbed a flipper against his chest. "[Hah! Many thanks!]"

Rubbing his eyes, Pikachu groaned. "['Many thanks', indeed… Couldn't you have prodded us awake, or something?]"

"[Perhaps… but I much prefer this method. It is just too much fun!]"

Pikachu groaned again. The things he had to put up with…

"[Hee, yup!]" Pachirisu added, nibbling on his tail. An odd habit he'd picked up before Dawn had caught him. "[Whirlpool's so fun and… um… funny!]"

Smirking and rolling his eyes, Pikachu rubbed him on the head. "[Nice wording, kiddo…]"

The squirrel beamed. "[Heehee! Thank you!]" He paused. "[… Wait. Um…]"

Ash suddenly lied back down again with some grunts and other displeased noises. His sleeping bag was held tighter to his face.

"Now, now, Ash…" Dawn scolded while wagging her finger condescendingly. "You've had a nice lie in… a few hours of it, in fact… but you've gotta get up now."

"Aww, but Dawwwn…!" Ash mumbled, rolling onto his front. "Who are you, my mom?"

She huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Ash Ketchum, don't you remember? You wanted to do lots of training today to make up for the lazy weekend. In fact, _you're_ the one who asked _me_ to wake you up early!"

He rolled over and shot up. "Oh, yeah! Training! I totally forgot!"

Brock appeared. "And lunch is ready, too," he said. He grinned. "Or I suppose breakfast, in your case."

With a cry of excitement, Ash was immediately on his feet, still wearing his sleeping bag. " _Awesome!_ Let's go, Pikachu!" He reached towards Pikachu.

The mouse's eyes widened. "[Oh no… _Ack!]_ " he yelped, being dragged off the ground by his paw as Ash hopped towards where the food was being served.

Good grief. He could already tell that today was set to be 'one of those days'…

* * *

Sitting by Ash's leg as the trainer scoffed as much food as his mouth could fit, Pikachu smiled. Today's food seemed to be a fancy combination of vegetarian meatballs and sausages. Not bad looking at all!

Sitting beside him on a grassy bank next to a weird tree were Piplup and Pachirisu, who were also eyeing up their vegetarian meals in anticipation.

"[Ooh, yes! A meal fit for a king!]" Piplup proclaimed, taking a sausage and looking it over.

"[Guess it's a good job, then, since you're an _emperor_ penguin,]" Pikachu joked, picking up a sausage of his own.

"[Oh, har har…!]" the penguin retorted before biting down. As he did, a look of content spread across his face. "[Mmm… quite good!]"

Giggling heavily at the joke, Pachirisu also bit down. Soon after, a sound of pleasure escaped his lips. "[So delightful~]"

Joining them, Pikachu took a bite of his own. He pulled a face as he could taste it, however. "[Hm. It's okay… a bit too bitter for me, though,]" he admitted, rather unimpressed.

"[Bitter…?]" Pachirisu asked, head tilted. "[What's that?]"

"[Oh, y'know, like… spinach. Oh, or aguav berries. Those are pretty bitter.]"

"[A bit of an exaggeration, methinks…]" Piplup replied. "[These aren't quite _that_ bitter. But yes, it is something along those lines, all the same.]"

"[Oh… so _that's_ what that flavor's called,]" Pachirisu said, eyeing up his food. "[Huh. So you don't like bitter food, then, Pikachu?]"

Pikachu shook his head. "[Can't say I'm a fan, no… I'd rather have something nice and sweet.]"

Suddenly, something wrapped around his waist. Or rather, some _one_. "[That so? 'Cos I have something nice and sweet for ya~]" she teased.

After the surprise wore off, Pikachu exhaled slightly, though not without a small grin. "[Hi, Buneary…]" he mumbled.

With a feminine laugh, she maneuvered around him, bowl in hand. "[Hey, Handsome!]" she greeted, winking. She turned to the others and waved. "[Hey, you guys!]"

"[Hi, Buneary!]" Pachirisu said, waving back energetically, much to her amusement.

"[Hello, there,]" Piplup added with a slight roll of the eyes. "[Here to sweet-talk Pikachu some more? As always?]"

"[You bet'cha~]" she chimed.

Pikachu exhaled again. "[Heh… why am I not surprised?]" He moved back a bit and pat the free space to his side. "[Here, join the party.]"

"[Heehee, way ahead of ya!]" She sat down next to him, placing her bowl of food down as she did. Immediately after, she began to nuzzle him. "[So! What's the score?]"

Trying to ignore the warmth creeping through his face, and failing, he simply gave a one-armed shrug. "[Er, n-not much. We're just enjoying the food,]" he replied quickly, picking up a meatball and nibbling it.

"[Not Pikachu, though,]" Pachirisu interjected. "[He doesn't like the bitter-y-ness, much…]"

"[Ah. Pity… I think it's pretty good,]" she replied, nibbling on the end of a sausage. "[Much better than the time Brock added some spice to our pellets. That was the worst...]"

"[Can't disagree with that,]" Piplup agreed.

"[Me three... Um, too, I mean,]" Pachirisu added awkwardly. Pikachu and Piplup huffed amusedly while Buneary giggled.

Stopping her nuzzling assault, the rabbit shot a coy look Pikachu's way. "[Besides, it'll never be as hot as you, Pikachu, eh?]"

"[Pfft. Every opportunity…]" Pikachu grumbled, trying to look displeased but failing as he finished off the meatball.

After a giggle, she suddenly seemed interested in something. "[Oh, speaking of beauty… I heard that a certain _someone_ tried catching up on too much beauty sleep. That true?]"

His cheeks warmed ever so slightly. "[Er, eheh. Maybe a little…]"

Piplup shrugged bemusedly and leaned against the tree. "[If two hours is 'a little', I'd hate to see what a lot is…]"

Pachirisu and Buneary both laughed at the joke. Pikachu, however, could only bashfully look off to the side. "[Yeah, well… I was comfy, so sue me,]" he mumbled.

Buneary murmured contemplatively. "[Hmm… y'know what? I will. I'm-a gonna get the feds on ya!]"

He chuckled. "[Yeah, yeah... I'd like to see ya try!]"

"[Oh, I will, don't worry,]" she said in an annoyed monotone.

Surprised, he glanced at her. Her brows were furrowed seriously. He began to grow nervous. "[… Err… Buneary? Y-You're… not actually going to…?]"

Her face contorted slightly. Eventually, she burst into laughter. "[No way, José! I'm just kidding with ya. Besides, what would I even tell the police? That you slept too much?]" She rubbed his head with one of her ears. "[You're so naïve, y'know that?]"

Although relieved, he groaned at her. "[… Yeah… I've been told that a few times…]"

"[She isn't wrong,]" Piplup added. "[You'd believe us if we told you the stars were to fall tomorrow.]"

"[H-Hey, that's not true!]" Pikachu's face warmed again."[… Anymore...]"

All of his friends giggled at his expense.

"[Um, a-anyway,]" he interrupted hastily, "[that wasn't the only reason I slept for so long, come to think of it.]"

"[Oh, yes?]" Piplup replied. "[Well, what're your other reasons, then, pray tell?]"

"[Well… I was having a really interesting dream. I was eager to see it play out.]"

"[Oh? What kinda dream?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Well…]"

"[Was I in it?]" Piplup and Buneary both asked at once.

Pikachu huffed amusedly. "[Nope. In fact, I don't think I recognized a soul in the thing.]"

His two friends gave disappointed responses. Piplup shrugged right after, though. "[Well, while it would have boosted the ego, I suppose it is better than appearing in the same dream as Buneary,]" he said. "[Who knows what might have happened with you two in it? Most certainly something messy.]"

A laugh escaped Pikachu, though he rolled his eyes afterwards. "[Hey, c'mon… you'll annoy Buneary, saying that in front of Pachirisu,]" he said.

"[Darn straight, Piplup!]" Buneary said, frowning at the penguin. "[Any time when the kids aren't present is fine, so quit doing it in front of the kiddies. You're almost as bad as Ambipom with that!]"

"[I _hardly_ compare to my dear friend, come on,]" the bird replied. He let out a sigh. "[… Apologies, all the same. I shall try to watch myself.]"

"[Much better, thank you.]"

"[… Er…]" Pachirisu started, looking incredibly confused, "[what's-?]"

"[Nothing at all!]" Pikachu said quickly. He crossed his arms and hummed in thought. "[Anyway, lessie… My dream… well…]"

He began to tell them about his dream-turned-nightmare, leaving in all the details he could remember.

* * *

As Pikachu finished his story, he saw Pachirisu begin to nervously nibble on his tail. "[Ohh, that last part was scary…]" he mumbled.

"[I guess that's what years of being chased down by Team Rocket does to ya,]" Buneary responded. "[Wouldn't surprise me if they _actually_ tried a giant net, next. A massive one, just like in the dream.]"

"[I'll say. And the same could be said for those lasers, too,]" Piplup agreed. He tilted his head. "[That flying pokémon, though… was it an acquaintance of yours?]"

"[Beats me. Didn't even know her species,]" Pikachu replied. "[It was so strange, though. I felt weirdly… comforted when I saw her.]"

"['Her', huh?]" Buneary asked, crossing her arms. "[Hmph! I hope I don't have a _rival,_ or something…!]" she said, a look of mock irritation on her face.

"[Haha, I doubt it. You scare away all the other girls with how forward you are…]" he replied, nudging her in the arm.

She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "[Good!]"

"[So, these other friends of yours…]" Piplup continued after biting through a sausage and swallowing, "[did you really not recognize any of them, either?]"

"[Nope.]" Pikachu paused and rocked his head from side to side in thought. "[Well… I dunno. Maybe nope.]"

"[ _Maybe_ nope…?]" Pachirisu asked, having swallowed a meatball.

"[Well… y'see… before meeting Ash- Well, more like just before meeting Professor Oak, I… kind of… didn't know anything.]"

Everyone gave him blank stares.

Piplup tilted his head. "[… And by that, you're referring to…?]" he asked.

"[… Anything! Well, memory-wise, anyway,]" Pikachu explained. "[One day, I just woke up feeling groggy with no memories of my own. Took me an hour to even remember what species I was…]" He picked up a meatball and stared at it. "[I knew about loads of general stuff, but… everything about my past's completely blank.]"

The small group gasped lightly in response.

"[So… you have an entire life that you just… don't know about?]" Buneary asked.

"[Basically,]" Pikachu responded. "[And I wasn't just hatched, either. I wasn't a pichu… and like I said, I had some general knowledge of stuff… so there must have been _something_ before then…]"

"[Oh, man…]" Piplup muttered, "[I sure hope your record is a clean one, then. I do not want to find out that you murdered a poor pokémon and then let it slip your mind.]"

"[Oh, no… you didn't do _that_ , did you?]" Pachirisu asked, looking worried.

"[I hope not, either…]" Pikachu replied before flashing him a reassuring smile, "[but I _reaaally_ doubt it, so don't worry.]" He looked off to the side. "[And if so… I don't think I wanna find out.]"

"[Well, it wouldn't be _all_ bad,]" Buneary said, picking up a meatball. "[After all, it'll make you one of those loveable rogues, won't it?]"

"[Haha! Ughh… only _you'd_ think something like that,]" Pikachu replied, shaking his head amusedly.

"[It isn't wrong, though~]" She gave him an adoring look. "[By day, a lovable, charming mouse who can do no wrong… By night, a deadly, fearless panther, causing havoc and mayhem as he prowls through the dead of twilight.]"

Pikachu playfully rolled his eyes. "[ _Now_ you're just making me sound like a super villain. A really romanticized one.]"

She giggled and winked. "[Well, us girls do like bad boys~]"

As Pikachu playfully rolled his eyes in the other direction, Pachirisu giggled along. He paused and tapped his own chin. "[So… what were your dream friends like?]" he asked.

"[Well…]" Pikachu started, "[one of them was a crazy growlithe… one of them was an oddish… I think one of them was a… um, something. Can't remember off the top of my head…]" He snapped his fingers. "[Oh yeah! And another one was a pikachu. One that looked a lot like me, actually.]"

"[Ooh, that's cool!]" Pachirisu chimed. "[Was he your twin?]"

"[Right down to the way we sounded, yeah. It was so strange. Cool, but strange.]"

"[Two Pikachus? Much like a dream of Buneary's…]" Piplup snarked.

"[I'm pretty sure it's eighty percent of her dreams,]" Pikachu replied. He huffed in amusement. "[… Safe for work, or not…]"

Buneary gave them both a look. "[Hey! What are you implying, exactly?]" she asked irritably.

"[Oh, nothing…!]" they both replied, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. "[When there's children present, too…]"

Pikachu blinked. His face started to warm. "[Eheh… whoops,]" he muttered. Ahhh shit. It was too easy to let stuff like that slip out around her. Now _he_ was in for it.

Pachirisu stared at him and the others, seeming innocently oblivious as all heck. "[Hm? I… don' undershtand…]" he mumbled, halfway through chewing a sausage. "[What'sh wrong wi' dreamsh?]"

"[N-Nothing, Sweetie,]" Buneary replied, giving him a quick one-armed hug. "[They're just being dim, so don't mind 'em.]" She gave Pikachu a dry frown. "[In fact… _someone's_ being a hypocrite, too…]"

"[Hey, just… just a bit,]" Pikachu stuttered.

"[Just a _bit?_ That's it, when we start dating, I'm making you sleep on the couch.]"

"[… What couch?]" he asked, smiling awkwardly.

"[I'll get one shoved into your pokéball, and make ya sleep on it, mark my words…!]" she said, smiling evilly.

Believing her, he began to sweat. "[… I always have bad dreams whenever I sleep in my ball, don't do that.]"

"[They'll get worse, believe me!]"

He sheepishly looked away. While he did, he noticed that Pachirisu - having swallowed his sausage - only looked even _more_ confused. "[… Did… something bad happen? I still don't get it…]" he said.

"[Give it a few years, and I am sure you will understand,]" Piplup added. "[At the rate Buneary's going, methinks it'll be a crash course on the subject, too.]"

The rabbit stuck her tongue out at him while he and Pikachu chuckled. Pachirisu's head was tilted the entire time.

After a while, once things calmed down, Pikachu noticed Buneary giving him a curious look. "[Hey, actually…]" she started, "[do you think that dream twin of yours was some kind of figment of the past? A relic hidden in the recesses of your mind?]" she asked.

"[A… figment of the past and a relic of…?]" Pikachu started, petering out. He ran her words through his mind some more before grinning. "[Heh… very fancy wording for ya.]"

"[Your words are like those of a poet. Or perhaps _my_ words, even!]" Piplup added, looking somewhat proud of himself.

She blinked. Blushing lightly, she smiled oddly and winked at Pikachu. "[U-Um. Hee, impressed?]" she asked.

"[A bit, maybe…]" he replied, smirking wider. He tilted his head. "[What do ya mean, though?]"

"[Well, I dunno. Maybe you had a brother before your amnesia? A particularly attractive one, at that?]"

He huffed amusedly and shrugged. "[Maybe. Who knows?]" He exhaled slowly. "[Sometimes I _do_ wonder about who my family were, though. I really hope nobody misses me too much…]"

The others gave him sympathetic looks.

"[Aww, that'd be so sad…]" Pachirisu muttered, fiddling with his food.

"[Much agreed…]" Piplup said. "[However, do not fear! If you awoke in the wild and nobody came to look for you in that time, it must mean you'd already said goodbye to your family! Most wild pokémon do before traveling around, after all.]"

"[You're not wrong,]" Buneary agreed. "[You guys found me about a mile away from where I was born.]"

"[Me too!]" Pachirisu added. "[When I left, I runned for ages until I bumped into Dawn.]"

"[Er… you 'ran' for ages,]" Piplup corrected.

"[... Huh?]"

Buneary giggled lightly. "[Yup, you say 'ran'. It happened in the past, so it's past tense, kiddo~]"

The squirrel's cheeks reddened. "[Oh, um… yeah, that. Whoops…]" he replied.

Pikachu chuckled. "[S'alright. But yeah, it makes sense about me leaving… but it would've been nice to see 'em again, anyway. Just like you guys. I'm sure all of you wanna see yours, too.]"

His friends mumbled in response, in what he assumed were agreements.

"[Well…]" Buneary started, smiling softly, "[when you meet your family again… maybe your memories will get jump-started? Or at least, like hearing a whisper in the wind, you'll feel _something_ , even if it's nothing definite. Who knows?]"

"[You… think?]" Pikachu asked, deciding not to point out that 'whispering wind' thing she'd said.

"[Yeah. I hope so.]"

"[Yeah…]" Pikachu blinked as something she'd said clicked. "[Wait… _when_ I meet 'em?]"

Grinning, she pumped a paw. "[Heck yeah! One day you _will_ , and it'll be the best freaking day of your life that doesn't involve dating me!]"

He couldn't help but smile warmly. Even as he rolled his eyes at that last statement. "[Maybe. Thanks.]"

Happy again, the trio continued to dine on their vegetarian meals while swapping some small talk.

The food was kind of crap, but Pikachu still enjoyed himself. Even when Buneary waited until Pachirisu wasn't looking to wink at Pikachu and eat a vegetarian sausage in an… interesting manner, just to get a rise out of him. Not that he really minded. Like, at all…!

Eventually, Ash excitedly called everyone together for their daily training. As Pikachu moved over with the others, however...the topic from earlier began to weigh on his mind again. _Would_ he ever find out about his past life?

Well… even if he didn't, it wasn't like it mattered, much. Ever since the day he'd met Ash, his life had been nothing short of happy, so he had nothing to complain about.

Even then… it would be nice to know, if nothing else.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Originally finished:** 24/12 (December)/2016

 **Word count:** 3,794

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** So there we go! Another pokéfic, just for you, my fine fellows! I was gonna hold this one off for a bit, until I had at least another chapter ready… but nahh, it's almost Christmas, so wynaut! Here ya go, my fine friends! A mysterious past, a wordy Piplup and a shameless Buneary, all for you guys! Not to mention more down the line, including things that may give you a chubby or perhaps even a few feels! :P

On another note, I watched ravengal play Doki Doki Literature Club the other day, which was… interesting. One of the, um, 'characters' called Monika regularly gave out writing tips, which have inspired me. I shall shamelessly rip her off and post some writing tips of my own in these chapters!

However, I'm no professional, and they'll inevitably be somewhat opinion based… so whether you follow them or not is up to you. Either way, it's all food for thought, right? :P  
(Please note: I haven't done them for all the chapters yet... so a few will probably have them missing, until I add more.)

 **Debateable fanfic tip #1:** **Reviewing turns you into a true bro! Or sis, whatever.**

Seems like a pretty obvious thing to say if you've been visiting either FFN or AO3 for a while, but I'll go ahead and say it, anyway. Reviewing the stuff you like is important!

It might seem like I'm just exaggerating, but naw, I mean it. Reviews really motivate writers to continue, it can help them know what to improve on, or what to do more of… and who knows? Maybe it'll even inspire them to do something that you suggested, or something that hadn't occurred to them before.

Of course, reviewing isn't always easy… but I have a few tips to help you think of stuff to write! First of all, it doesn't need to be long, exactly. The longer the better, naturally, but as long as you say _something,_ then people will be satisfied.

You could talk about a thing you liked, a thing you think could be improved (but God, please, don't be an asshole about it), something that made you laugh, something you found interesting, something you think might happen, a character you liked, a reference you caught… The possibilities are endless! But like I said, you don't need to talk about _everything._ Just one or two or so of these points should do it.

With that, all of your favourite fics, and perhaps even ones you're not a massive fan of, may become even better! Or maybe even continue, if they were a bit dormant before! Plus, a secret tip… if you really cozy up to someone with a review, they might even repay the favour and give you one back. Even better, right? :P

On the other end of the scale, if someone reviews your fic, be sure to message them back, alright? I mean, I procrastinate all the time, so I sometimes take a while, myself… but it'll make people less salty when you _do_ get around to it, believe me. Nothing's worse than posting a ninety-page long review, and you don't even get a 'lol, thanks' back. D:

So yeah, all in all… review fics, please! And also, review this one, too, while you're at it, lol. XP

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** He heard some **creaming** to his side.'

(Was it Buneary? Honhon!)

 **#2:** "[Not much. We're just enjoying the **fooc.** ]"

(Oh, foocing hell...)

 **#3:** 'She rubbed his head with one of her **rears.** '

(Buneary sure is… um… eager!)

 **#4:** "[I'll get one shoved into your pokéball, and make ya sleep **in** it, mark my words…!]"

(In the couch? Is she going to murder him and hide the body? O,o)

 **#5:** '"[Aww, that'd be so sad…]" Pachirisu said, **fiddling with his sausage.** '

(Suddenly, I found myself wishing I'd gone with a better choice of food for them to eat…)

Alrighty then, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, mates! Tata for now! c:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Training!


	2. The Teams That Trained

Brock raised an arm high above his head. "Alright, everyone… ready?" he asked.

Ash and Dawn both gave an energetic reply before giving each other some sass talk. All the pokémon on the sidelines cheered along, as well. Especially Buneary, who could easily be heard over the others.

Inhaling, Pikachu nodded towards his battle partner, Buizel, who nodded back just as enthusiastically with crossed arms. Taking a four-legged battle stance, the mouse then turned to face his opponents, Piplup and Ambipom.

Eyeing the monkey up, Pikachu frowned determinedly. Like always, he had a bet going with her. Whoever lost this match had to do a favor for the winner… and after what happened _last_ time, he knew he had no option but to win this thing.

Of course, he could have opted out of taking the challenge… but where was the fun in that? He wasn't a sissy!

"[Ready to lose, dudes?]" Ambipom asked, adopting her own fighting stance.

"[Come off it! You know you don't stand a chance against _us!_ ]" Buizel replied, smirking lightly.

"[We shall see about that!]" Piplup exclaimed, posing. "[We may not be trained in the art of regular battling… but believe me! Our natural talent will _shine through!_ ]"

The three pokémon all turned towards Pikachu, waiting for his trash talk. However, he was kind of at a loss. Aww shit, how could he compete with _those_ kinds of lines? "[… Err… um… You! … Er…]" he stuttered.

"[… C'mon, Pikachu, don't make it two against one, here,]" Buizel said, frowning impatiently.

"[I-I'm trying!]" Pikachu replied flusteredly. "[Err…]" His face lit up. "[No, wait! I've got it!]" He grinned cockily. "[Are your asses ready to get kicked? 'Cos my foot's itching to-]"

"C'mon, Brock, let's go!" Ash called out excitedly. "I'm all fired up!"

"Alright, sure, let's _begin!_ " Brock yelled, bringing his lifted arm down to officially start the match.

"[Oh, c'mon…!]" Pikachu groaned, flopping to the floor.

"[Nice work…]" Buizel said dryly while Piplup and Ambipom laughed to themselves. Pikachu could only groan louder.

"Oh, heh, whoops…" Ash said sheepishly. "Sorry, buddy, why don't you say your thing, first?"

Pikachu got up and frowned dryly at his trainer. "[Nope, it's gone. Let's… just do our thing,]" he snarked.

Almost certainly sensing the mood, Ash just shrugged awkwardly. "Eheh, um… a-alright, Pikachu!" he started. He pointed forwards, towards Dawn's side. "Start off with a Thunderbolt on Piplup! And Buizel, you Aqua Jet towards Ambipom!"

Getting back into position, Pikachu charged some electricity in his cheeks. To his side, Buizel enveloped himself in water and flew towards Ambipom.

Dawn outstretched an arm. "Piplup, use Whirlpool on the Thunderbolt! And Ambipom, Double Team, then hit Buizel with Focus Punch!"

Pikachu fired off a large bolt of electricity at Piplup, who was currently glowing, flippers above his head. As the electricity drew near, the penguin formed a large swirling vortex of water above himself and flung it at Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

Once the two attacks collided, Pikachu briefly glanced to the side. He saw Buizel go through an Ambipom-shaped hologram. He was then punched out of his water funnel by a glowing fist on one of the monkey's tails.

Pikachu frowned. That wasn't a good start.

Looking back at Piplup, he jolted when he saw his own electricity flying back in his direction.

Panicking, he tried to jump out of the way, only to be painfully struck in the side. It wasn't very effective, but it stung enough to make him squeal.

Falling to the ground, he looked towards Piplup, who appeared triumphant. His Whirlpool attack was nowhere to be seen, either.

"[Ahah! Nice try!]" the penguin boasted. "[It is too bad that my genius, as well as Dawn's knows no bounds!]"

"[H-How…?]" Pikachu stammered in disbelief. He frowned. "[Hmph, well, I'll get ya next time!]"

Piplup smirked. "[I'll bet you cannot! In fact, why not try another Thunderbolt towards me?]"

"[Gladly!]" Pikachu charged another Thunderbolt and fired it towards Piplup.

Just like before, Piplup charged another Whirlpool and flung it at Pikachu's attack. As the two collided, Pikachu's electricity somehow managed to wind around the water vortex before shooting back towards him.

Caught off guard, he made another flustered attempt at dodging. He cried out in pain as he felt his tail get struck. "[Ow, _damnit!_ ]" he shouted.

"Ah, Pikachu!" Ash called out in surprise. "Cut that out, Piplup's tricking you!"

Piplup burst into laughter. "[I cannot _believe_ you tried that a second time! What were you expecting?]"

"[Not _pain…_ ]" Pikachu grumbled.

Looking back briefly, he saw Ash get a hold of himself, frown and point at Piplup. "Let's teach him a lesson! Get in close with Quick Attack, then _Iron Tail him!_ " he exclaimed.

Pikachu started up his attack. Feeling himself getting lighter, he zipped forward at the speed of sound towards the penguin.

"Ambipom, use Double Team to-" Dawn called out before halting, seemingly hearing Ash and seeing Pikachu's advance. " _Gah!_ Piplup, counter with Bubble Beam!"

Piplup inhaled before shooting a huge load of fast bubbles in Pikachu's direction.

Not slowing, Pikachu sidestepped the attack, allowing it to explode next to him. He sidestepped again as Piplup shot a second round of bubbles at him. Once close enough, he jumped high into the air and fell towards Piplup, tail feeling solid and heavy.

"Piplup, Peck!" Dawn ordered quickly. She ordered something else after, but Pikachu was too busy to hear.

Piplup brought his head up, using his glowing beak to intercept Pikachu's tail and shield himself. He succeeded, but the force of the attack was strong enough to knock him backwards off his feet.

Landing, Pikachu swung around again, ready to hit the penguin with his steel tail.

Ambipom appeared to his side from nowhere, startling him out of attacking. Recovering from the shock, he was relieved to see that it was just one of Ambipom's afterimages, created by Double Team.

When he looked back towards Piplup, he got a face full of explosive bubbles, knocking him a fair distance away. Guh…!

"Pikachu, no!" Ash cried out. "Buizel, help him out with a Sonic Boom on Piplup!"

While Pikachu picked himself up, he glanced at the weasel, who was dodging around Ambipom's punches. Jumping onto one of her fists, Buizel flicked his glowing tails in Piplup's direction, flinging a shockwave towards him.

Screeching in shock, Piplup leapt forwards to dodge the attack. It exploded where he'd once stood, throwing him off balance.

" _Now,_ Pikachu!" Ash called out.

With some charging, Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt towards Piplup, which struck him instantly.

Grinning, Pikachu pumped up the voltage. "[ _Checkmate,_ buddy!]" he taunted.

Piplup's screams grew louder. That is, until they stopped abruptly, only to be replaced by some feminine grunting.

Pikachu turned down the voltage to see what was going on. Noticing a giant hand being electrified in place of where Piplup had been, his eyes widened. Oh, drat.

"Aha! Great work, Ambipom!" Dawn cheered.

Still shooting out electricity, Pikachu glanced behind the hand. He saw Ambipom, who was still fighting off Buizel with her remaining hand. The weasel seemed to be struggling against her punches, even with the electricity surging through the monkey's body. She was tenacious, to say the least.

"Now retaliate with _Swift!_ " Dawn ordered.

Ambipom's hand, the one closest to Pikachu, began to glow brightly. Seconds later, a barrage of stars shot out of it, circling around Pikachu's Thunderbolt to smack him directly in the face.

Crying out in pain, Pikachu ceased his attack and rolled to the side to avoid further harm. The rest of the stars whizzed past him.

"Great! Now, Swift, Swift, _Swift again!_ " Dawn called out excitedly.

"Pikachu, _dodge those stars!_ " Ash cried.

Pikachu didn't need to be told twice. As Ambipom readied another round of stars, he got back to his feet and ran in a circle around her. He felt a few stars painfully graze his tail as he barely moved out of the way, but it didn't stop him from running.

Looking ahead, he saw Ambipom's other hand smack Buizel away. Glowing, it started firing off a constant volley of shots in front of Pikachu's path.

He thought about stopping to avoid running into the attack… but he could also sense shots coming in from behind, most likely from the monkey's other hand. Whether he stopped or continued, he was going to be seeing stars.

"Pikachu, _Quick Attack on through!_ " Ash exclaimed.

Feeling lighter, Pikachu zipped forwards at a much faster speed, boldly going through the attack. He grit his teeth as the stars assaulted his face and grazed his sides, but he kept running.

Within seconds, he made his way through the barrage, making Ambipom gasp in surprise.

Still running, Pikachu winced. Yeesh, his body smarted something fierce, now. Still, he was glad it hadn't been anything worse.

" _Alright!_ Now, _into Ambipom!"_ Ash ordered.

Turning on a dime, Pikachu rushed towards the normal-type. Once within range, he leapt towards her, ready to give her a ramming. When close, however, he was interrupted when he smacked into a swirling vortex of water instead. One that surrounded Piplup, who was spinning around on the spot.

"[This is for the electrical assault, _friend!_ ]" the penguin boasted.

Pikachu found himself spinning around the Whirlpool, his momentum not slowing. With a yelp, he was flung out, shooting towards Buizel.

The mouse and the weasel screamed before crashing into each other, rolling into a heap a fair distance away.

"[Ughh… smooth move, ya knuckle head,]" Buizel chided, sounding annoyed.

"[Hey, who's a knuckle head?]" Pikachu responded irritably. "[It's not like I _asked_ to get flung at ya!]"

Buizel started to argue back. However, he stopped and sighed. "[Right, sorry. Let's just get up and-]"

"Piplup, jump onto Ambipom!" Dawn called out suddenly.

Pikachu and Buizel gave each other an odd glance as Piplup happily got into position on top of Ambipom's head.

"[… You got any clues, Pikachu?]" Buizel asked, pushing himself up into a seated posture.

"[None,]" Pikachu replied, rolling onto his front and standing on all fours. "[Still, stay on your toes!]"

The water-type stood up and nodded. "[Right. Same to you.]"

"[Yeah!]"

"Now, Ambipom…" Dawn continued, "time for the _Swiiiift_ _Dance!_ Piplup, you join in with Bubble Beam!"

"[Alright, cool! Time for my _specialty!_ ]" Ambipom chimed, getting onto all fours.

"[As it is for _mine!_ ]" Piplup added, standing on her head.

"[Huh? Dancing…?]" Buizel muttered.

Pikachu gasped. "[Oh, no, watch out! She's gonna start shooting stars everywhere!]"

Ambipom used her paws to swing her feet around, making her spin around on the spot. Piplup responded with some surprisingly fancy footwork, staying on top of her head while she performed a breakdance.

As she built up enough momentum, her tails began to glow. Golden stars were soon being fired everywhere across the field with reckless abandon. They filled the air in an almost-dome like shape, swirling around her and Piplup in an impressive pattern.

"[… Oh. Right. Shit,]" Buizel mumbled in horror.

"[ _Run!_ ]" Pikachu shouted, shooting off in a direction. He could hear Buizel's footsteps following closely behind soon after.

"Pikachu! Buizel! Dodge as best as you can! And don't stop!" Ash cried out.

It was easier said than done. As the stars reached them, they found themselves hopping around all over the place. It was a constant struggle to avoid being hit by the many stray shots. Some of which even grazed them painfully.

Looking around, Pikachu could even see the bystanders moving back several steps to avoid being hit themselves. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed Buneary jumping back in surprise, but he tried to ignore the sensation. He knew she'd be alright.

As if the monkey's attack wasn't enough of a hassle, Pikachu suddenly noticed a continuous stream of bubbles being fired out of the chaotic mess of stars. Unlike Ambipom's Swift, however, they were following behind the mouse and weasel.

Clicking his tongue, Pikachu stopped focusing on dodging the stars to run away from the stream of bubbles. He could sense Buizel doing the same nearby, too.

After some running, the mouse stopped hearing Buizel's footsteps behind him. Assuming that he'd taken too many hits and had fainted, Pikachu gulped. This wasn't looking good at all, was it? Agh, that stupid Swift Dance! It may have been bad for contests, but for raw overwhelming power, it was a beast. Especially with Piplup around.

As hopeless as things were, Pikachu kept trying to dodge shot after shot. He jumped over one, ducked under another, sidestepped away from several more… and scrambled around to avoid many others. Ash yelled out a command of some kind, but Pikachu couldn't concentrate enough to listen properly. Plus, the stars were kind of noisy. They twinkled in the air and crashed noisily when hitting the ground.

Eventually, a star hit his foot, sending him sprawling into another star, which painfully knocked him to the floor. From there, he cowered as Piplup's bubbles came closer, threatening to bombard him. He was finished.

He felt water flicker across the side of his face as the bubbles flew closer. He then felt someone's arms wrap around his waist. They hoisted him high into the air, just as Piplup's attack swept under him.

Surprised, he looked up at the pokémon holding him. He was relieved to see Buizel, who was using both tails to fly away into the air.

"[Close one, huh?]" the weasel asked, sounding amused.

Pikachu let out a breath and smiled back at him. "[Yeah… no kidding,]" he replied. He looked at his savior's tails in surprise. "[How long have ya been able to do _this?_ ]"

"[Saw it in a contest at some-]"

A few stars whizzed past Pikachu's tail, making him yelp in surprise. "[Hey, tell me later! If we rest and chat, we're brown bread!]" he shouted out.

"[Right, way ahead of ya!]" Buizel replied determinedly. He then took evasive action, swerving and swooping around all of the airborne projectiles.

Being in the air, the weasel had a much simpler time keeping the two of them safe. Some stars whizzed past Pikachu every now and again, but, thanks to Buizel's proficiency at flying, the mouse stayed safe.

To be honest, Pikachu was pretty jealous of the guy. He wouldn't mind having two tails, himself.

Eventually, the chaos below subsided. Looking to see why their opponents' attacks were petering out, he noticed them now standing next to each other, both in a neutral position. Amazingly, Ambipom didn't even seem a _little_ dizzy, despite all of the spinning she'd done.

Dawn began commanding them to do something else. Unfortunately, Pikachu couldn't make out what was being said. He and Buizel were too high up, and the lingering stars that hadn't vanished yet were still causing a lot of noise.

Once Dawn finished, Piplup fired off a huge stream of bubbles straight up. They flew high into the air, far away from where Pikachu and Buizel were flying.

After their momentum slowed, the bubbles fell back down towards Piplup, who had stopped firing them. As they came closer to him, he summoned a large Whirlpool above his head, collecting the bubbles in the big vortex of water.

Pikachu, who still had Buizel's arms around him, curiously watched the odd show Piplup was putting on. He tried to listen out for Ash's commands, but the noises of rushing water drowned him out. No pun intended.

"[Any clue what they're up to?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Nope, but I'm sure it's something contest-related, so watch it,]" Buizel replied. "[Last thing you want is Ambipom winning that bet of yours.]" He inhaled, as if holding back a cringe. "[Especially after _last_ time…]"

Pikachu nodded, a shiver travelling up his spine. "[Y-Yeah…]"

Before too long, dozens upon dozens of bubbles were now swirling around Piplup's Whirlpool in a controlled manner. Eventually, the waters rapidly sped up, spinning the bubbles around at a much faster rate.

For a while, Pikachu wondered if the guy was just showing off, as he often did. A breath caught in his throat upon realizing that all of the bubbles were combining together after colliding. As a result, a much larger bubble began to form. It continued to grow until it looked about Ash's size. Maybe even bigger.

Suddenly, Ambipom jumped up and, using Focus Punch, smashed a fist through the Whirlpool and into the mega bubble. It was launched towards the flying duo at an alarming speed.

They both screeched in distress as it came closer. Acting instinctively, Pikachu pushed Buizel's arms aside and jumped out. Solidifying his tail, he slammed it into the bubble with all his might.

Like a rubber ball, it flew straight back at them as he fell.

Luckily, Buizel was quick to catch Pikachu by the paws. The weasel opened his mouth to speak to the mouse, but he never got the chance. Ambipom had jumped up and punched the bubble again, launching it back at them.

"[Oh, holy frigging Mew!]" Buizel exclaimed. "[Pikachu, Iron Tail, _now_!]"

With a start, Pikachu solidified his tail again. Before he could ask, Buizel swung him like a bat, making him squeal in surprise. Mid-swing, his metallic tail smacked into the bubble, making it fly back down at a faster speed than before.

Buizel gave a slight sigh of relief. "[Hah… like my idea?]" he asked.

Panting slightly, Pikachu frowned up at him. "[No way! Why didn't you just dodge it, or someth-]" He squawked as Buizel swung him again, using his still-metallic tail to deflect the bubble Ambipom had punched back at them.

"[Alright, no time for talking,]" Buizel retorted, preparing himself for another swing. "[She ain't finished yet.]"

"[Oh, no…]" Pikachu groaned, yelping as he was swung again.

This continued for quite a while. Ambipom would punch the giant bubble, only for it to be knocked back, thanks to Buizel taking a swing with Pikachu.

At first, Buizel simply just swung the mouse back and forth. As the speed of the bubble increased, however, Buizel found himself having to be more creative to keep up. He did mid-air loops and spins in order to keep the momentum running strong.

Pikachu hated the entire experience, especially once he felt his brunch threatening to make a reappearance more than a few times.

He wouldn't lie, though… this was pretty interesting. It was almost like a game of ping pong. Something that Ambipom had expressed a huge interest in, as of late. Pikachu would've been amused by that, if he wasn't being used as a goddamn living paddle!

More rounds of bubble tennis passed by. Eventually, Pikachu heard Buizel panting. That wasn't a good sign. If he let that thing hit them, then they were good as toast.

Pikachu considered telling Buizel to just fly out of the way. He was pretty stubborn when he wanted to be, but Pikachu hoped he could reason with the guy. However, something a short distance away caught his eye before he could.

It was a large, tangrowth-like mecha, with multiple tentacles coming out of it. Noticeably, it had a giant red R on the front, and glassy looking eyes, as if a large cockpit was there.

… Oh, screw _that._

Letting go of one of Buizel's paws, Pikachu swiveled himself around and smashed his tail into the bubble, sending it flying into the distance. Buizel was thrown off by Pikachu's sudden movement, but he soon corrected himself.

The bubble sailed through the air, eventually colliding with the mecha and noisily exploding against it. After some distant, goofy screaming, the entire thing collapsed and blew up, launching three distinct figures into the air.

Pikachu saw everyone in the area below stare at the spectacle, including Ash, who looked like he was shouting something at the mecha. Pikachu couldn't hear him over its explosions, but it didn't take a genius to know what he was yelling.

"[Wow… good going,]" Buizel praised, holding the mouse by both paws again.

Pikachu smiled up at him. "[Thanks!]" He frowned determinedly. "[We're not done yet, though. Not 'til we win!]"

The weasel smirked, looking just as determined. "[Right.]"

Pikachu looked back down towards his trainer, whose attention was back on the fight. "[Alright,]" the mouse started, "[now let's go closer to A- _Aah,_ _watch out!_ ]"

Yelping, Buizel flew to the side, barely scraping past a huge stream of bubbles that Piplup had fired their way. The weasel had to soar away afterwards, with the penguin's attack hot on his heels.

Pikachu frowned. Oh, that dirty bastard penguin! Firing while everyone had been distracted!

Ignoring that, Pikachu called out, "[Hey, go down lower!]" while gripping onto Buizel for dear life. "[Ash'll know what to do! We just need to get close enough to listen!]"

"[Right, good idea,]" Buizel replied, getting ready to go in for a dive. Before he did, however, some familiar stars whizzed in his path, forcing him to sharply swerve to the side. "[ _Ah!_ No, actually, bad idea!]" He had to keep swerving to dodge stars. "[Ambipom's got some… crazy anti-air stuff… going on.]"

Pikachu huffed in annoyance. He was right. If he tried going down, Ambipom would probably end up snagging them with Swift. If that happened, he would lose her bet and owe her a dare.

Nothing was worse than doing one of her dares.

… Not to mention, forcing her to do one of _his_ dares was fun as all Hell. He just _had_ to win!

The mouse's ears pricked as he heard an especially loud wheeze from above. Looking up at Buizel, his suspicions were confirmed. The weasel was panting heavily, and he had sweat pouring down his face.

Oh, damn. Using his tails to fly must have been taking its toll on the guy. Especially since he was carting Pikachu around.

They needed to win soon, or things weren't going to end well.

Glancing around, however, that was looking unlikely. Piplup was still tracking them with Bubble Beam, and Ambipom was leading her shots, complicating matters.

Turning his gaze downwards, Pikachu saw Ash looking back in his direction while doing some weird gesticulations. He was patting his cheeks with both hands before pointing them towards Piplup's bubbles.

… A light bulb went off in Pikachu's head. "[Don't give up, Buizel! I think I know what Ash wants from us!]" he called out.

Buizel only panted in response.

"[I know you're exhausted, but c'mon, Buizel!]" Pikachu urged.

"[… Huh, what? Exhausted?]" Buizel suddenly replied.

"[Well, yeah, it's pretty easy to tell, man! You look like you're gonna drop outta the sky any second.]"

Swerving to avoid some of Ambipom's stars, the weasel paused. After a second, he frowned down at Pikachu. "[Hey, no way! I could keep going for _miles!_ ]"

Pikachu huffed loudly in amusement at the sudden show of pride. Classic Buizel.

Hearing the mouse's reaction, Buizel's frown deepened. "[Don't believe me? Right, well I'll show you!]" Audibly straining, he seemed to be forcing his tails to spin faster, speeding his flight.

Pikachu was impressed at Buizel's proud determination, but he was also slightly worried. Going faster would only wear out the water-type all the more, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Oh, well. No time like the present, then. Pikachu allowed his cheeks to build up some electricity. He was careful not to let it travel across his body, which would've been bad news for Buizel.

Once charged enough, Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt towards the stream of bubbles, which struck one of them as it zipped by. Upon hitting it, the electricity rapidly began to travel down the line of projectiles. It made the attack look like a long, electrical necklace made of bubbles.

Soon, the electricity drew close to Piplup, who let out a shrill scream just before an explosion rang out. His attack stopped abruptly after that. Noticeably, no stars could be seen, either.

Pikachu and Buizel cheered loudly. Below, Ash could be seen pumping a fist into the air in celebration. They'd done it! This battle was _theirs!_

Glancing at Dawn, he could see her calling out to her pokémon, who were hidden in the settling dust. After an explosion like that, it was pretty pointless, surely.

Still flying, though no longer moving about, Buizel smirked. "[Guess that's that, then. Not bad, Pikachu!]" he praised.

"[Couldn't have done it without'cha, buddy!]" Pikachu chimed back. "[Okay, let's go down for our congratulations. We've earned 'em!]"

"[Right.]" Buizelseemed to be allowing his tails to slow slightly, letting him descend.

A sudden glint from the dust caught Pikachu's eye. Looking over, he- "[ _Ack!_ ]" he yelped.

Without warning, he and Buizel were surrounded by hundreds of big stars, which were arranged in a huge, sloped tunnel shape. Looking through to the other side of the starry tube, he saw Ambipom continually circling her tails' hands around, shooting stars simultaneously. She was also holding Piplup close to her body with her regular paws. Amazingly, he looked no worse for wear. The hell!?

In a panic, Buizel spun his tails faster to rise higher. However, in doing so, he accidentally smacked his tails into the Swift stars above them, stopping their momentum dead.

"[Oh, crap! _Aghh!_ ]" Buizel screamed, now in free fall.

Also falling, Pikachu yelped in shock. He swung himself and flipped out of Buizel's grasp. Running on pure instinct, he used Quick Attack to land onto one of the many stars as they zipped by. He stumbled slightly, but he managed to stay steady.

For dear life, he began jumping from one star to the other as fast as he could, using them like speedy platforms to go further down the tunnel. Behind him, he heard Buizel's cries cut off, only be replaced with pained yelps as he fell into the attack tunnel. Much to Pikachu's dismay, he went quiet after that.

Ohh _shit._

"Pikachu, can you hear me?" Ash cried out, barely audible over all the stupid stars. "Just keep going down! I _know_ you'll figure something out when you get close enough!"

Gulping, Pikachu nodded inwardly and pressed onwards, slowly advancing on the monkey and penguin star by star. He had no idea how they had escaped that explosion… and, quite frankly, he had no idea how he was going to get through this all by himself… but he had to stay determined if he was going to win this and avoid doing another dare.

Thanks to his keen reactions and footwork, he managed to keep up with the chaos, still leaping from star to star. He didn't celebrate just yet, though. In the distance, at the foot of the slanted tunnel, he could see Piplup preparing another attack.

Oh, drat. Unlike before, Pikachu wouldn't be able to Thunderbolt him back properly without losing focus and slamming into the stars. He sure as heck didn't want to risk it, anyway.

"[Prepare yourself for a crushing defeat, my friend! _Hyaaa!_ ]" Piplup cried. He unleashed a torrent of bubbles down the tube in Pikachu's direction.

Pikachu jumped onto a star to his side, dodging the attack. Like before, Piplup continued to follow him with his bubbles, so the mouse kept moving, both forwards and sideways.

In his desperation to avoid it, he had to defy gravity and run up the starry tube's 'wall', then upside-down across its 'ceiling'. He was lucky he had the speed to pull off this utter perversion of physics, as Buneary had put it once.

Doing the same to come back down to the 'floor' of the tube, he noticed that Piplup's assault had stopped. Glancing ahead, the mouse noticed that the water-type had produced a Whirlpool in front of his beak, pointing in Pikachu's direction. Inside that was a surprisingly large bubble, which spun around the water vortex while growing larger still.

Giving out a battle cry with a flick of his head, he fired the big bubble from the Whirlpool like a cannon ball. It flew through the tunnel in a fast spiral pattern.

Eyeing it up, Pikachu drew a sharp breath. How could he dodge _that!?_ At the speed it was spinning through the starry tube, he had no chance of getting through without taking a heavy hit…

" _Pikachu!_ " Ash's recognizable voice cried out from below, catching his attention. " _Use one of the stars!_ "

The stars…? Pikachu wondered what he meant. After all, he was _already_ using the stars as platforms!

Almost stumbling, he lingered on a star for a second to regain his bearings. As a result, he flew further away from Piplup and Ambipom's direction… though it also brought him away from the approaching bubble, giving him a little more time to think, so it was welcomed.

… Wait. No, he had it! Standing on his two legs and posing like a surfer, he kicked his heel into the back of the star as it continued flying into the air.

It twisted off course, allowing him to make a tight u-turn to fly back towards his opponents. He made sure to correct himself to stay upright afterwards. From there, he flew through the middle of the tunnel, ducking as the big bubble flew right above his head.

He grinned widely. "[ _Wooo! Aww yeah!]"_ he yelled excitedly.

Screeching, Piplup panicked and fired off a ton of bubbles at Pikachu without Dawn's input. Ambipom, who was still holding him, tried to calm him to no avail.

Kicking the back of the star and holding on, Pikachu pulled up to use it as a shield. Once the bubbles collided with it, they bounced off, scattering in multiple directions.

Seeing an opening, Pikachu jumped up and, solidifying his tail while sending some electricity to it, spun around to slam it into a lone bubble. It was sent flying towards his opponents like an electrical missile.

Piplup and Ambipom only had time to scream before the bubble slammed into them, blowing up on impact with an electrical explosion.

Most of the stars dissipated, allowing Pikachu to safely fall down. However, he noticed Piplup and Ambipom were still in the game, barely managing to get back to their feet.

"Hey, _Pikachu!_ " Ash cried out from below. Looking down, Pikachu saw that he was falling towards him. He had both hands out in a volleyball-like pose. "Let's finish 'em off with _Volt Tackle!_ " the trainer continued.

Grinning, Pikachu got into position to land. A few seconds later, he dropped onto Ash's hands and sprung high into the air.

Curling up, he spun rapidly and charged up as much electricity as he could muster. "[Time for that butt kicking I was talkin' 'bout! _Hyaaaaah!_ ]" he screamed, tumbling towards his opponents with energy surrounding him.

Their horrified expressions were the last thing he saw before smashing into them, causing an explosion of electricity.

It took a long time for the dust to settle as Pikachu picked himself up. He began to massage his aching body while he got to his feet. Owww… that attack may have been _really_ powerful, but it stung like a son of a bitch. The reason why he only really did it at the end of the battle, unless Ash asked him to do it earlier.

The dust finally started to settle, so he looked around. Inside the small crater he'd created. He saw Piplup and Ambipom lying in unflattering positions, both out for the count.

"And that's it!" Brock called out, holding an arm up. "Ash, Pikachu and Buizel are the winners!"

Dawn ran over to Piplup and Ambipom, looking worried. Ash and the pokémon on the sidelines cheered for the mouse instead. Especially one of them in particular, who had an expression of pure admiration on her face.

Looking around, he saw Buizel lying on top of Mamoswine's back, seemingly having landed there earlier. He looked roughed up, but he was otherwise fine. The mouse couldn't tell if the look on his face was an impressed one or a jealous one.

All the same, as Pikachu gave him a thumbs up, the weasel returned it.

" _Alright!_ Awesome job, buddy!" Ash exclaimed, running towards Pikachu. "With skills like that, you'll end up taking on those gyms without me!"

"[Haha, thanks, Ash!]" the mouse replied happily. "[That's a load of crud, though. Without you, I would'a gotten my butt kicked!]"

When Ash was close enough, he scooped Pikachu up into a hug. "Hehe, if you're being modest, then I don't know 'bout that, buddy!"

Pikachu hugged his trainer back with a laugh. "[Well, we're a true dream team, so maybe you're right!]"

Hearing Piplup and Ambipom coming to, he hopped out of Ash's arms to move over to them.

"Good job, you two," Dawn praised. "Even if you didn't win, you still did great! We're one step closer to becoming a top coordinator team~!"

"[Thanks, Dawn…]" Ambipom muttered, smiling weakly.

"[Yes, many thanks…]" Piplup groaned tiredly.

Smiling, Dawn turned her attention to Ash, who began to commend her on her improved battling techniques, and on perfecting Ambipom's break-dance. While doing that, they walked over in Buizel's direction, most likely to praise him, too.

Piplup rubbed his head. "[It is a shame, however, that no amount of praise will make the aching in my head go away…]"

"[Heh. That's pretty rich, coming from you, pal,]" Ambipom remarked. "[That ego of yours could heal your broken bones if we sang enough praises your way.]"

He huffed at her. "[Just because one enjoys a _little_ praise every now and again…]"

"[Ha! 'Little' my rear end!]"

"[Yo, speaking of praise…]" Pikachu interjected, smiling, "[nice work, guys! Don't think I've had a workout like that in a _long_ time.]"

"[Jeez, right back at'cha,]" the monkey replied. "[You sure take your training seriously, y'know that? It's pretty impressive.]"

"[Heh, thanks!]"

"[I agree wholeheartedly,]" Piplup added. "[Of everyone I could declare an equal, you certainly come the closest. Even the legends would be impressed, I'm sure.]"

Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, wow… that's something coming from you, Piplup. It almost makes me feel like a lugia, or a mew, or something, myself.]"

"[With skills like that, perhaps you're not far off the truth, friend!]"

Ambipom clicked her tongue. "[So sacrilegious! Imagine if Lord Mew himself could hear ya...]"

Piplup shrugged. "[I doubt he would care much… well, that is _if_ Mew is a male, anyway.]"

Ambipom's eyes flared up in irritation. "[ _What?_ You take that back, _everyone_ knows that Lord Mew's form is that of a dude,]" she retorted.

"[Are you quite sure? I've seen artistic interpretations recently, and that legend looks _far_ too feminine to contain any parts that belong to a male.]"

"[You don't know what you're talkin' about, buddy boy!]" she retorted, giving him either an offended or a sassy look. Maybe both.

"[Hey now, keep quiet, Piplup,]" Pikachu chided. "[Don't say that. You know how she feels about her… um, beliefs.]"

Piplup gave him an incredulous look. "[What? I mean, apologies, but her beliefs do not change facts,]" he said, crossing his arms indignantly.

Pikachu sighed. Why did the guy have to be so eager to speak his mind?

Also crossing her arms, Ambipom gave the penguin a sour look. "[And that, Piplup, is why you're set to meet many _special_ fire-types one day,]" she snarked.

Piplup gasped and moved about flusteredly. "[I can't believe you, Ambipom! Did you just tell me that I'm going straight to _Hell?_ ]"

She started to sweat. "[H-Hey, I was just kidding. Don't have a cow,]" she replied sheepishly.

"[That's a _jerk_ thing to kid about…]" he retorted, sniffling. "[Saying you want me to go to Hell…]"

"[Aww, now look, Ambipom…]" Pikachu started, rubbing the penguin on the shoulder, "[you upset him so much, he stopped being all grand…]"

She sighed before smiling pleasantly. "[Yeah… sorry, Piplup. I'm sure Lord Mew will easily forgive ya for what you said. More than he'll forgive me for being a jerk to ya, anyway,]" she replied, gently patting him on the head with one of her tails' hands.

Piplup wiped his eyes. After a short while, he smiled back and put his flippers to his hips. "[Th-That is quite alright, my simian friend! And I am… most sorry for my sassiness towards your favorite legendary,]" he said, sounding as grand as ever.

Ambipom smiled. "[Don't sweat it, buddy.]"

Pikachu grinned, happy to see them getting along again. They sometimes fell out with each other over little things, being as brash as they were, but their fights never lasted for too long.

"[Either way,]" she continued, "[about what we were talking about with Pikachu's skills… I'd rate him a solid… meh.]" She frowned dryly, as if unimpressed, and shrugged exaggeratedly. "[He's hardly anywhere near _legendary_ level. He's good for a battler, sure… but if he tried bringing that to a contest, I can tell you now we wouldn't be getting a ribbon.]"

"[Well… in all honesty, I cannot argue that,]" Piplup replied. "[All substance and no show.]"

"[H-Hey, the frick's _that_ supposed to mean?]" Pikachu said, frowning at them. "[You're saying that when I surfed on a star, and whooped your asses!?]"

"[But not while posing, or using your electrical prowess to create some sparkles, or something of that ilk.]"

"[Give the guy a medal! He gets it!]" Ambipom praised.

Pikachu groaned and slumped his shoulders. "[Oh, screw you guys. You're frigging impossible, I swear…]" he grumbled, earning some amusement from them.

"Alright, you guys!" Ash interrupted excitedly, moving closer. "Time to move over and let some of the other guys train!"

The three pokémon nodded and made their way to the sidelines.

Once they reached a spot near some weird little tree, most likely the one from before, Pikachu began to smirk. "[Heh. Y'know, Ambipom… I think I won me that bet, didn't I?]"

Frowning worriedly, she sighed. "[… Okay, go on, then. What do ya want from me?]"

"[Well… I _maaaay_ or may not be in a merciful mood, so… how about some ketchup, or something?]"

She looked relieved, though not without a raised eyebrow. "[The heck am I gonna get any of that stuff!? It doesn't just grow on trees.]"

His grin grew coy. "[Well… if it's easier on ya… you _could_ do the same thing you made _me_ do the last time I lost one of our bets. Would be some nice payback for all the blushing ya made me do…]"

Gasping, she defensively shook her paws and tails' hands. "[N-No, that's alright. Ketchup it is. Next time I see some, it's yours!]"

He beamed. "[Thanks!]" His smile turned evil. "[… Once you fetch some, that'll be part _one_ of the bet finished…!]"

"[Ohhh, Lord Mew, give me strength...]" she mumbled, looking pretty defeated.

Piplup chuckled and pat the mouse on the back a few times. "[Cheeky as ever, my friend!]" he praised.

"[Heh, I have my moments, sometimes,]" Pikachu replied, proudly puffing his chest out.

"[No kidding…]" Ambipom replied, grinning faintly and rolling her eyes. "[Ah well, I ain't complainin' either way. I enjoy these bets of ours. You certainly put your all into 'em.]"

"[Can you blame me after last time?]" he retorted, face warming slightly.

She laughed. "[I've gotta say, I'm pretty amazed you still do these with me after _that._ ]"

"[Well… it's all worth it, for the most part. I enjoy doing 'em, too.]" He pumped an arm. "[ _Especially_ when I win!]"

Snorting in amusement, she pat him on the head with a tail hand. "[I'll frigging bet…]"

He chuckled at first, though he hissed in pain as she accidentally agitated a bruise.

Hearing that, she withdrew her hand. "[Ah! S-Sorry,]" she said, frowning worriedly.

"[S'alright…]" he replied, massaging his head. "[Just a real rough battle. Everywhere's a bit sore, right now.]"

"[You think _you_ are in a sore state!?]" Piplup asked. "[Consider my poor struggles… being weak to electricity and having it forced through my veins twice. _Smashed_ into me, the latter time.]"

"[Well, I guess…]" Pikachu replied, rubbing the back of his head, "[… but Volt Tackle hurts me, too, y'know. Why do you think I only ever use it at the end of a-]" He blinked. "[… Wait, only twice? You liar, I zapped ya more than that, didn't I?]"

"[Nope! Used Double Team and saved his butt,]" Ambipom explained.

"[Ahh… that explains _that,_ then.]" Huh, he'd been wondering how Piplup had avoided getting himself zapped, right before Ambipom's starry tunnel of death. He guessed he knew why, now.

"[But yeah, hurts more to get hit _by_ it than it does to hit _with_ it,]" Ambipom said, cringing slightly as she massaged her tail.

"[Ah, well… guess you've got me there.]" He gave an apologetic look. "[Sorry, guys… Hope you're not hurting too much.]"

"[Don't look so sorry, man,]" she replied. "[It's a battle, remember? We're supposed to beat each other senseless.]"

"[Well, fair enough, I guess…]"

Piplup nodded. "[Absolutely! Besides, it is nothing a round of berries and rest cannot cure,]" he replied. He smirked lightly. "[… Hint, hint.]"

Pikachu chuckled. "[Alright, then. I'll quickly go and fetch us some to snack on.]"

"[Hey, thanks, man!]" Ambipom chimed.

"[Be quick, friend!]" Piplup added. "[I doubt our trainers will take long in deciding who to use for battle.]" He rubbed his stomach. "[… Also, I am very hungry.]"

"[Way ahead of ya!]" Pikachu said, already on his way towards some berry bushes in the distance.

For a second, however, he noticed something in the distance. Curious, he wandered closer, even as he went out of view of the others…

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Originally finished:** 14/01 (January)/2017

 **Word count:** 6,923

 **Times the word 'bubble' was used:** 41

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Hope you guys had fun reading this strangely intense battle! If you're wondering why I did it, then my answer is for fun, for character bonding… and maybe, just maybe, to get you guys used to the idea of this fic having intense action in the future. Who knows…?

Anyways, I'll bet all of you are calling BS at the fact that Swift sometimes missed its mark in this battle, aint'cha? Well, blame the anime is all I can say! It's full of inconsistencies to the games, as I'm sure you're all aware. "Finish it off with False Swipe!" and all that…

Also, fun fact! Swift's name is Speed Star in Japan. Cool, huh? Yea.

 **Debateable writing tip #2:** Battle scenes are easier to follow when they don't ramble!

I recently went through this entire chapter with a fine tooth comb, just to fix it up and bring it up to snuff with later chapters. As a result, I realized that my writing was… quite a bit clunky.

For example, I often used _really_ fancy wording, and didn't separate sentences properly, and… ugh, it was bloody awful. XD Not the worst, but I'm glad I looked over this, again.

If you want to know what I did to (hopefully) improve things, it's really quite simple. Make the actions short and snappy, separate the character's actions into different sentences/paragraphs and use simple enough language for people to understand (unless you're going for something pretentious, of course).

Even better, you might want to try to and picture the scene in your mind as you write it. Even better, write it out, and then afterwards, follow what you wrote word for word, picturing it as literally as you can. Do this, and you might find mistakes, or things that weren't explained very well. Such as Ambipom's tunnel of stars, which took me _forever_ to frigging explain without causing headaches.

With all this in mind, hopefully it should help you decide how to write your battle scenes with a little more structure. Of course, it's all a matter of opinion, and it takes a while to find a style that works, so don't lose sleep over it. Just try and do your best, and you'll eventually get it. Hell, you'll probably do a better job that I did, to be fair. XP So don't lose hope! Fight to keep the dream alive! Never let it die! Etc.

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: 'Our** your butts ready to get kicked?'

(Their butts have fused! And they did so just to get kicked!)

 **#2:** "Ambipom, **used** Double Team to blah blah blah," Dawn called out

(Dawn thinks she's Brock, now. Explaining obvious things to the audience. I bet he'll get annoyed that she's taken his job!)

 **#3:** With some charging, Pikachu fired off a Thunderbolt towards Piplup, which struck him **dead** on target.

(I thought I was being clever with my wording, but not quite. Instead, Pikachu instantly killed his best friend. Oopsie!)

 **#4: '** Piplup responded with some surprisingly fancy footwork, staying on top of her back while she **break danced**.'

(How the heck would Piplup stay on top of her back while she's breaking danced? This was not thought out well.)

 **#5: '** Dawn was commanding her pokémon to do something else, though **Pikachu was** **too high** to make out what was being said.'

(Perhaps it was a bad idea to smoke his dank weed before the fight… That said, maybe he inhaled too much laughing gas, like in a certain other fic. Who knows!)

 **#6: '** Buizel praised, both paws wrapped around his.'

(It's getting awfully shippy in here. PikaBui confirmed for canon!)

 **#7:** 'He **shad** to keep swerving to dodge stars,'

(He became Shadow to avoid stars? Well, with Chaos Control, I guess that makes sense. XP)

 **#8:** 'He was patting both of his cheeks and then pointing towards Piplup's bubbles **with the other.** '

(The way I worded things makes it seem like Ash is mooning Piplup's bubbles. What a rude dude with a lot of 'tude.)

 **#9:** 'Pikachu jumped onto some **a** star to his side, dodging the attack.'

(And here we see PikaMario, grabbing a Starman to save his ass from mischief. XP)

 **#9:** "And that's it!" Brock called out, holding an arm up. "Pikachu **winds!** "

(Reminds me of those flatulence-obsessed fics that keep getting spammed in the Smash Brothers section.)

 **#10:** "With skills like that, you'll end up taking on those gyms **on** without me!"

(What kind of television show is 'Without Me'? Is it a show where trainers make their pokémon do their journey without them? Sounds kinda cool, actually. Without his ten year old strategist nearby, Pikachu would get his world rocked.)

 **#10:** Ambipom clicked her tongue. "[Well, you **well** good.]"

(Ambipom turned Cockney. Innit, mate!)

 **#11:** "Alright, you guys!" Ash piped in excitedly, **coming** moving closer.

(Oh dear. Ash got a little too excited during training…)

 **#12:** 'Inside that was a single bubble, which spun around the water **cortex.** '

(Apparently, the main villain of the Crash Bandicoot games became a water-type for his brief cameo in the fic.)

 **#13:** "[H-Hey, I was just kidding. Don't have a cow, she replied sheepishly. **]"**

(Not only is she speaking in third person, but she's kind of sort of doing a farm pun. The fiend!)

Welp, thanks for reading, you guys! Like I said last chapter, feel free to drop me a review, if ya like! It's motivating, it is. :P Either way, tata for now! c:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Berries?


	3. The Mouse That Was Late

Performing some stretches alongside her partner, Pachirisu, Buneary eyed up her opponents, Gliscor and Staraptor.

She had to admit, she was relieved that Ash had changed his mind on using Grotle in this match. The tortoise was a cool guy, no doubt about it… but he had recently learned Rock Climb, and it looked painful as all Hell. So in short, screw that noise!

Though… with that said, Staraptor _had_ learned Close Combat earlier in the week, so… hmm… Never mind, she wanted to fight Grotle instead, she decided. Alas, her fate was that of a punching bag's; to be beaten until she became estranged of the hook that held her aloft, falling to the floor, sapped of dignity and grace.

… No way, screw _that,_ too! She had to have more faith in herself than _that!_ For Dawn's sake - and more importantly, because Pikachu was watching - she could overcome Close Combat, she was sure of it! Or she'd get her fluffy ass kicked trying!

Oh yeah… and even more importantly, there was also Ambipom's bet that Buneary wanted to win, no matter what. That woman's bets were not to be trifled with, unless one wanted to be embarrassed for life… and that was coming from someone who didn't embarrass easily.

Putting all that aside, she mentally prepared herself for what she would say for her pre-fight trash talking against her opponents. As she thought about it, she glanced around at everyone else, out of interest.

Grotle and Gliscor were discussing something amongst themselves. Pachirisu was performing some backflips, likely in an attempt to stretch out his limbs and work off his excess energy.

Instead of getting ready to rumble, like Buneary had expected, Ash and Dawn seemed more interested in standing around to rant at each other, all as Brock watched in exasperation.

She listened intently, wondering what had gotten them all fired up.

"C'mon, Ash, just _one_ little item!" Dawn pleaded, holding up the float stone thing she'd bought about a week ago. "It'll affect the battle in really cool ways!"

"I don't really see the point, Dawn…" Ash replied, sassily putting a hand to his hip. "We're not allowed to use 'em in gyms and leagues and stuff, and that's exactly what I'm training for!"

"Well… I guess, but…"

"And they don't let'cha use 'em in contests, either, do they?"

She pouted angrily. "That's not the point, Ash! It's for _fun!_ " She crossed her arms. "Besides, you'll learn better if you fight with different things going on to normal! Your pokémon, too!"

He let out a huff. "Dunno about _that,_ Dawn…"

Buneary sighed to herself. Oh dear, not again. An adamant trainer who wanted a vanilla battle, and an adamant coordinator who wanted to spice it up with some flavor. Tsk, the battle wasn't going to start for _ages,_ was it? Not while Dawn continually waged her _own_ fruitless battle for items, like she often did with Ash these days.

Well, it looked like Buneary's tough talk would have to wait a while. A pity, because she had some good stuff in mind to say.

Still, she didn't mind too much. It meant she could wink at Pikachu some more~!

She glanced around at the spectators, keeping a sharp eye out for her favorite hunk. She kept it up for half a minute before realizing that something was wrong. Not a single flash of her favorite shade of yellow had crossed her vision.

Huh, that was odd. She glanced around even more, hoping that she had just missed him. Eventually, however, she let her unrolled ear dip. Darn, was he not going to watch?

She let out a long breath. Catching herself, she shook her head and perked up again. No, it was okay. It's not like he had decided to miss her battle, or anything. Most likely, he was taking a toilet break while the humans wasted time arguing.

She hoped he wouldn't take too long, though. Looking at that frown on Dawn's face, it was clear she was on the verge of giving up. Again.

With some time to spare, she decided to daydream to herself about the amazing show of skill she'd watched mere minutes ago. Good lord… how was nobody else freaking out about how outstandingly _cool_ he'd been!? She could swear she'd creamed herself something fierce about eighty times a minute while watching. At _least._

She still remembered it vividly. The way he'd danced with danger, weaving in-between all of those stars… the way he'd smacked that giant bubble away into the unknown, causing the anguished screams of Team Rocket to ring out across the horizon with an explosion… the way he'd rushed through the golden tunnel of peril, defying physics as if he had the powers of Palkia himself. Not to mention, him ending things in a glorious display of partnership with Ash, bringing upon one Hell of an explosive finish…

Yes, needless to say, she had been wetter than Piplup after a long swim. She wasn't quite sure if she was joking, either.

The next time she got a moment alone with him, she'd be sure to praise him endlessly. Anything to make him feel as special as _he_ was to _her_ …

She suddenly felt someone pat her on the arm, bringing her back to reality. Turning around, she saw Pachirisu, who'd stopped running around to nervously nibble on his tail.

"[Hey, Buneary?]" he asked.

She frowned slightly in concern. "[Hey, what's wrong, Sweetie?]" she asked. "[You were bouncing up and down in excitement just a little while back, so what's gotten you all nervous?.]"

He quickly glanced at the opposition and then back at her again.

"[Ahh, I get it,]" she continued. She gave him a comforting look. "[Aww, getting antsy?]"

He nodded. "[Y-Yeah… I just thought about how tough they are, and I'm not very good at fighting tough pokémon, yet…]"

She wrapped an arm around him. "[Now _that's_ total nonsense. You beat up that gabite the other day, remember?]"

He pouted. "[She was a big meanie, though, so I was real mad at her…]" He sighed. "[Anyway, I didn't beat her, really. I winned because time ran out…]"

She couldn't hold back a giggle. "[Yeah, well… I think you _won_ fair and square. You would've gotten her, eventually.]"

He smiled softly for a short while before going back to nibbling on the spikes of his tail. "[I dunno…]"

She gave him a few pats on the back. "[Y'know what? If it makes you feel better, you're not the only nervous one.]"

He looked up at her curiously. "[I'm not…?]"

"[Nope! I'll bet you Gliscor's just as scared as you are. After all, you know what he's like with things.]"

He stopped nibbling as much to look up at the scorpion in question. He was currently talking to Staraptor, with a somewhat worried expression on his face.

"[True…]" Pachirisu replied, looking back at her.

"[And did you see Staraptor eyeing you up cautiously, earlier? He's _totally_ scared you'll zap him something fierce.]"

A smile grew on the squirrel's face. "[Yeah! I guess so…]" He tilted his head. "[How about you? Are you scared?]"

Staraptor's Close Combat flashed across her memory. She forced her smile to stay in place, however. "[Naww, I'm good~]"

Pachirisu's look of uncertainty returned.

Seeing it, she sighed lightly. "[Alright… y'know what? Maybe just a little,]" she replied. She huffed in amusement. "[Not as nervous as when that weird phione started hitting on me last week, though. Now _that_ made me nervous.]"

He giggled. "[I remember that! He surprised me, so I runned- r-ran. I _ran_ all the way across the beach and behind a tree.]"

Chuckling, she nodded. "[Wish I could've joined ya. But hey, I think I'm glad I stayed.]"

His head tilted again. "[You are? But why?]"

"[Well, sometimes, you need to face your fears to become the best pokémon you can be. Even if that means being in some situation which makes you a little nervous.]"

He looked intrigued. "[Really?]"

"[Yup! Besides, ya never know… it might not be all that bad. Like… Phione. If I'd run away, I'd have never known he was a decent guy. Even if he _was_ incredibly hor- U-Um… keen. For a date. Yeah.]"

He giggled for a short while before looking contemplative. "[I… I guess you're right. I need to be more braver.]"

She smiled. "[And you _will_ be more brave! I believe in you, kiddo!]" She gave him a few more pats on the head before moving away. "[And if you ever feel like you need an extra boost of bravery to get you by, we'll all be here for ya.]"

His eyes widened in awe. "[All of you?]"

"[Yup! Me, Pikachu, Dawn… all of us!]"

Beaming, he hopped up and down. "[Hee~! Okay, then! Yeah, I feel like I have lots of bravery already!]"

She beamed just as widely. "[Awesome! Well, let's use that burst of bravery to _kick us some behinds!_ ]" she rallied, raising her paw and smirking confidently.

"[Yeah!]" he replied, doing an excited back flip.

As if on cue, a loud sigh could be heard. The sigh that signified Dawn finally giving up on her item argument. It was time!

While their trainers got into position, Buneary and Pachirisu followed suit, alongside their opponents.

Once they all took on fighting stances, Gliscor began to speak. "[Hope you're ready for us to beat'cha! Kyee hee!]" he taunted, winking and sticking his tongue out.

"[Yup!]" Staraptor joined in, standing next to him. "[Even with our ice weaknesses, we'll win, easy!]"

The scorpion blinked. He blinked again. With another blink, tears began to well up in his eyes. "[Oh, dear lord, I forgot about her horrible ice attack! Oh _nooooo!_ ]"

Looking exasperated, Staraptor pat him on the back with a wing. "[C'mon, man, you're not looking very tough right now…]"

"[But four times the pain…!]" the scorpion replied, tears streaming down his face.

Ignoring the temptation to point out that he had a weakness to water, like the stuff pouring down his face currently, Buneary smiled exasperatedly. "[Hey… don't worry, alright? Just for you, I won't use it at full power,]" she reassured.

"[… Really?]" he asked, his tears drying.

She nodded. "[Yeah. Rabbit's honor.]"

He blinked. Grinning, he then put his pincers to his hips. "[Well, then yeah! We'll beat'cha for sure! Kyee hee hee!]"

Sighing in amusement, she grinned back. "[You wish! Even without ice, we'll crush you so bad, Ash might start begging _us_ to join his team!]" she boasted.

"[In your dreams…]" Staraptor snarked in amusement.

Smirking, she winked at him. "[Yup! As long as a certain someone's in 'em, they're my favorite ones to have!]"

A short laugh escaped Staraptor's beak, making her smirk grow.

They began to turn towards Pachirisu, eager to hear his. However, the humans started talking, catching their attention.

"So, um… should we start, Ash?" Dawn asked, scratching her beanie.

"C'mon, Dawn," Ash started before pumping a fist. "You know they've gotta do their battle speeches, first! It's what pumps 'em up for an _awesome_ battle!"

"Huh… but you interrupted Pikachu while he was doing _his,_ didn't ya?"

Ash blinked. "… Haha, um… whoops." He looked sheepish. "He's always telling me to cut that out. Guess I've still got things to learn, myself, huh?"

Dawn put her hands to her hips. "Like using items, Ash Ketchum?"

He and Brock, who was still nearby, sighed.

"Oh no… not _this_ again!" Brock said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, c'mon, Dawn…" Ash added.

They continued to banter, so Buneary and the others just shrugged them off, going back to eagerly watching Pachirisu for his turn to taunt.

When everyone's eyes were on him, she noticed that some sweat was beginning to pool on the squirrel's head.

"[U-Um… er…]" he started, quickly looking off to the side. Noticing his gaze meeting hers, Buneary gave him a big, pleasant smile. With a blink, the squirrel broke his gaze away to stare at the ground, as if thinking something up. Nodding with a determined frown, he smirked up at the opposition. "[We're gonna win, because… because I'm gonna fry you up like today's sausages!]" he remarked, letting his cheeks spark for effect.

Shock spread across Staraptor and Gliscor's faces, as if they hadn't expected such a comeback from the kid. Buneary, however, chuckled lightly before beaming at him. Impressive! She wouldn't lie, she was so proud of him.

Who knows? Maybe even Pikachu himself would have been intimidated by that. Heh, well, maybe not too much, but it was a good start.

Before she could congratulate Pachirisu, Brock called out for the match to start. Quickly after, Ash gave out a couple of commands to his pokémon. Dawn followed suit, asking Buneary and Pachirisu to dodge and use some moves of their own.

Bouncing high into the air to barely dodge Staraptor swooping in with Brave Bird, Buneary suddenly remembered something important. Looking down at the crowd, she kept an eye out for her favorite mouse.

With several seconds' worth of searching while her upwards momentum came to a stop, she frowned lightly. _Still_ no sign of him. So strange… it was really unlike him to skip any of his friends' battles. Plus… well, it was extra off-putting that he'd chosen _hers_ to miss out on, of all fights.

Flipping sideways to dodge a Steel Wing attack from Gliscor, who'd flown upwards to intercept her, Buneary sighed inwardly. Oh, well… it wasn't like she _needed_ Pikachu to watch, or anything. Still, she wouldn't have complained at having him cheer her on.

Twisting herself around and firing an Ice Beam at Gliscor on Dawn's command - albeit a slightly weaker one than usual, which Dawn thankfully didn't notice - the bunny mentally shrugged. Oh well. It gave her an excuse to go on the flirting offense later on!

* * *

"[Man, where even is he?]" Ambipom asked out loud, sitting on top of Mamoswine's back.

"[Who, pray tell?]" Piplup asked, sitting next to her.

"[Our little berry gatherer, o' course. He's been gone ages, hasn't he?]"

"[Oh. Yes, 'tis a good point, come to think of it. Where _is_ he?]"

"[Hm. Beats me,]" Buizel responded from the monkey's other side.

"[Dead,]" Mamoswine replied dryly.

Piplup actually sniggered at that and Buizel huffed in amusement. Ambipom just groaned exasperatedly, instead.

"[You're a natural-born comedian, Mamoswine,]" she said sassily.

The mammoth huffed. "[I try,]" he replied dryly.

"[Right, but seriously, you've got a point,] Buizel said. "[He only went to get us berries, right?]"

"[Could've fooled me,]" Ambipom replied. "[He'll miss the start of the battle if he's gone any longer. And you _know_ Buneary won't like that.]"

"[You got that right.]"

"[Perhaps…]" Piplup started, "[we should go and find out for ourselves what happened to the man?]"

"[Better not,]" Buizel replied. "[I don't wanna miss the action. Besides, I'd rather not walk in on him taking a crap, or something.]"

"[… Delightful imagery, thank you,]" Piplup mumbled.

"[Heh. Just saying it how it is.]"

Ambipom sniggered. "[If so, then whatever. Can't be more embarrassing than what I made him do for our last bet together.]"

Buizel coughed slightly, as if vaguely flustered. "[I… guess when you put it _that_ way…]"

"[Here, look, I'll go after him,]" she replied. There were rustling noises, as if she were getting up. "[Whatever he's up to, I'll find out, lickity split.]" She jumped off Mamoswine's back. Upon landing, she suddenly looked very surprised. "[Oh… hey, I found him!]"

Chuckling, Pikachu stopped leaning against the odd small tree behind the mammoth. "[Hey! Missing me, much?]" he asked, walking past his bag of random berries on the floor.

"[You freaking _bet!_ Where were you?]"

"[Indeed!]" Piplup added, peering over the edge of Mamoswine's backside. "[Surely, one does not need the same amount of time to pick berries, as it takes for Dawn to give up on asking for the use of items.]"

Pausing for a second to wrap his head around what the penguin meant, Pikachu shrugged. "[Well, that's the thing. I went to go get some, but then I noticed _this_ blowing away.]" He held up the folded piece of paper in his paw, allowing Ambipom to take it. "[… Plus, you guys were totally talking about me while I was gone, so… mayyybe I got a little curious,]" he continued, smirking.

Holding the piece of paper, Ambipom chuckled and rolled her eyes. "[Who knew you were so nosy?]" She looked down at the paper. "[Alright, what've you given me, then?]"

"[Well-]"

"[Hey, it's great you're back and all…]" Buizel called out from where he was sitting, "[but hurry up and get up here. They've started fighting, already!]"

Surprised, Piplup quickly turned around, disappearing from view. "[Oh, legends, he's right! Buneary's already taken to the air!]" he called out.

Pikachu yelped. "[Shit, o-okay, I'll tell you, later. First, help me get these onto Mamoswine's back, please, won'tcha?]" he said, pointing towards the berries.

"[Oh, yeah, sure,]" Ambipom responded. She picked up the bag with one of her tails' hands and gave his paper back to him. After he took it, she snickered. "[Anything to let you be a lazy butt.]"

Grinning, Pikachu groaned lightly. "[Hey, if you were as small as me, you wouldn't exactly wanna carry it, either.]"

"[Hah, good point… but yeah, you're still lazy,]" she replied, clambering up Mamoswine.

Rolling his eyes, Pikachu tucked the paper behind his ear. Once it was in place, he joined her, clinging onto Mamoswine's fur and pulling himself up.

"[Oh goody, more weight,]" the mammoth mumbled dryly.

"[You know you don't really care, so don't complain, you,]" the monkey retorted, getting into position on top of him.

Amused, Pikachu soon climbed to the top of Mamoswine, too. The first thing he noticed were his friends, Piplup, Ambipom and Buizel. They were sitting in a row while already hungrily chowing down on the contents of the bag. While eating, they were watching the battle in front of them, which seemed pretty intense.

Running over, he sat next to Piplup. "[Did I miss anything?]" he asked.

"[Pachirisu just clipped Staraptor with some electricity,]" Buizel replied before biting into a berry.

"[It was not enough to ground him, though, alas,]" Piplup replied. "[Perhaps if Pachirisu had the strength of Zhordos, my favorite superhero, things might've taken a different turn.]"

"[Heh, okay, cool,]" Pikachu replied, joining in with watching the raging battle. "[Zhordos, huh? That electric superhero who loves talking all grandly?]"

"[Yes, the very same!]"

"[Huh, 'kay.]" Suddenly, Piplup's way with words made a whole load of sense.

Speaking of electricity… in the battle, many large bolts of blue lightning were shooting out from the middle of the arena. Some of them smacked Gliscor with little damage, thanks to the scorpion's typing.

"[Good lord, it's not gonna take long for Pachirisu to get as strong, though, from the looks of things,]" Pikachu continued.

"[Little tyke's a tough little bastard,]" Buizel commented. "[Next to you, he's the strongest electric-type I know.]"

"[Give it a year and I'll bet he'll even kick your butt, Pikachu,]" Ambipom quipped.

"[Heh, it'll be fun to see him try!]" Pikachu replied, smirking. He snapped his fingers as something occurred to him. "[Hey, I just remembered… Buizel, I never told you, did I?]"

The weasel leaned backwards. "[Depends. What's up?]"

Pikachu leaned back as well. He saw Buizel's looking at him from behind his other friends. "[The battle we fought in earlier. You did frigging awesome, so great job!]" he said, smiling.

Buizel smirked. "[Oh. Heh, thanks. You too.]" His smirk dropped slightly. "[Still disappointed I got knocked out, though. Won't lie…]"

Piplup gave a proud huff. "[With our powers combined, how could you _not_ get knocked out? Ambipom and I are a dream team, not seen for centuries!]" he boasted.

Grinning, the monkey rubbed him on the head with a paw. "[Right on, bro!]" she agreed.

Buizel clicked his tongue. "[A dream team of nuisances, more like,]" he snarked.

"[Hah! The levels of salt run high, it seems,]" Piplup retorted.

Buizel rolled his eyes. "[Hmph.]"

"[Gotta give you credit for something, though,]" Ambipom started. "[I've _never_ seen anybody do so good with their tails before. And that's coming from the girl with two arms coming out her butt.]"

"[Haha, yeah! How'd you even _do_ that?]" Pikachu asked.

A proud look grew on Buizel's face. "[Well… can't lie. I learned a lot, being a contest pokémon,]" he said, sitting up straight again.

"[And _that_ is why us three friends are the _most_ stylish of pokémon!]" Piplup chimed. "[… Oh, and Mamoswine, of course!]"

"[Huh? Didn't hear that, but I disagree with whatever you said,]" Mamoswine snarked dryly.

Piplup pulled an exasperated face. "[… Point still stands, we friends are stylish.]"

Pikachu sat up. "[And me, too, right?]" he asked.

Piplup pondered that for a second before shrugging. "[Eh. No.]"

"[All 'do', no 'show',]" Ambipom added, also shrugging.

Buizel snorted. "[They've got a point. Your moveset isn't made for contests,]" he agreed.

Slouching, Pikachu groaned. "[… Thanks for the input, you guys…]" he mumbled with a roll of his eyes. He refocused his attention back on the battle to escape his friends' shitty opinions.

After some amused responses, the rest of the gang quietened down to focus on watching the rest of the battle unfold. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten too far underway, yet, so there was still plenty to see.

Currently, Gliscor and Staraptor were attempting to flank Buneary and Pachirisu from the sky. Staraptor was dive-bombing them with Brave Bird, and Gliscor was trying to smash into them with a combination of Steel Wing and X-Scissor.

Pachirisu constantly avoided them by running around at impressive speeds. Buneary hopped over every attempt at knocking her down, jumping in sync to Pachirisu's sprint.

Quickly spinning in mid-air, the rabbit fired a burst of Ice Beam at Gliscor, hitting him dead in the face. On Ash's command, the scorpion's mouth glowed red, warding away the attack with Fire Fang.

Hearing Ash's next instruction, he dropped to the ground and drew back his claws. With a scooping motion, he grabbed some large clumps of soil and threw them in Buneary's direction. He smacked her in the face, making her yelp and stop to cover her eyes.

Pikachu gasped when he saw Staraptor advancing on her, readying a vicious Close Combat on Ash's command. A pink heart slammed into the bird's face before he could do it, however, sending him reeling in a random direction in a stupor.

After congratulating Pachirisu on a job well done - something that made the squirrel beam with pride - Dawn shouted an instruction for Buneary. Although she still seemed unable to see, the rabbit fired off her Ice Beam straight forwards, scoring a direct hit on Staraptor and freezing him solid. His block of ice fell to the ground with a _thud._

Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief. What a close call…

His ear pricked when he heard snickering. Looking to his side, he saw Ambipom and Piplup chuckling lightly.

"[Oh, if only Buneary could hear your worry for her,]" Piplup teased, "[I swear on my life, the philandering would never end.]"

Pikachu blushed. "[Y-Yeah, well… y'know. Action's heating up, ain't it?]" he retorted.

"[Ain't the only thing heating up, eh?]" Ambipom added cheekily, tapping him on the head with her tail's hand. He could only groan in response.

Chuckling harder, Piplup playfully nudged her in the side. "[Oh, you're so lewd for someone so holy, you know that?]" he said, amused.

She winked at him. "[Lord Mew won't mind the odd little tasteless joke, I'm sure.]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes amusedly. "[Well, that'll make one of us, then, won't it?]" He paused briefly as Buneary barely jumped over Gliscor's Steel Wing. Once she was a safe distance away, thanks to Bouncing off the scorpion's head, he continued. "[Anyway, yeah, I'm rooting for her, sue me.]"

Buizel clicked his tongue. "[Traitor,]" he muttered.

Pikachu blinked. A second later, he waved his paws defensively. "[H-Hey, I'm rooting for the other team, too, don't worry.]"

Buizel snorted. "['The other team', huh?]"

Pikachu blinked again. "[… Um. _Our_ team.]" He frowned. "[Anyway, you're one to talk and point fingers! You were _just_ praising Pachirisu!]"

"[Right, but at least I _was_ on his team at some point. Where's _your_ excuse?]"

"[He has you there, turncoat…!]" Piplup chimed.

Pikachu huffed exasperatedly. "[Now how can I win with two against one?]" he mumbled.

"[The same way Gliscor's gonna do it,]" Buizel retorted, sounding smug, "[just you watch.]"

"[Heh, we'll see about that,]" Pikachu shot back, smirking competitively.

"[Ooh, sounds like the perfect time to start a bet to me!]" Ambipom started up excitedly. "[Who's interes-]"

"[Pass,]" Buizel and Piplup both said immediately.

She looked shocked. "[Oh, what? Not gonna let me finish?]"

"[After what you did to Pikachu last time, not in a million years,]" Buizel said, picking up another berry and biting down on it.

"[I am afraid I must agree,]" Piplup replied. "[While I do love having all eyes on me… I would rather that not be because I lost one of your bets.]"

She pouted. "[Hmph. Good to see I'm not the only mon with no balls, here,]" she grumbled.

Huffing amusedly at their exasperated reactions, Pikachu pondered things for a short while. Making another bet with her was a _reaaaaally_ bad idea, without a doubt…

… but screw it, he could _never_ turn down a challenge.

His attention wavered when he saw Buneary taking Gliscor's X-Scissor to the chest, which sent her flying backwards. He barely held back a gasp at the sight.

The scorpion was about to go in for another one, but had to back off when Pachirisu ran in, teeth extended.

Tumbling back, Buneary landed on the floor with her ears. Springing them outwards, she soared backwards in a somersault before landing perfectly on her feet. While catching her breath, she caught Pikachu's eye and began to beam widely, almost as if gasping in surprise.

Smiling back at her, Pikachu gave her an encouraging wave. The bunny reacted with glee and a wink before eagerly getting back to business, hopping towards the others with glowing ears to join in the assault.

A spark of warmth went off in his chest, making him smile wider. After making sure things were stable again, Pikachu turned his grin towards Ambipom. "[So, we still game for that bet?]" he asked.

She beamed at him, though a sudden look of horror fell over Piplup and Buizel. The latter of which was even leaning forwards to get a good look at him.

"[Whoo~! Never mind, we have an actual _man_ in the audience!]" Ambipom cheered.

"[Has your brain stopped working, my friend!?]" Piplup screeched. "[You barely escaped the last brush with embarrassment, and yet you're asking for _another_ bet!?]"

Pikachu pumped a fist. "[You bet! What're the rules this time?]"

Buizel's look of horror changed to an impressed smirk. "[Hah. You just never back down from anything, do ya?]" he asked.

"[Nope! I'd go for it, even if Mew-]" Jolting, he quickly glanced at Ambipom. "[… Um, _Lord_ Mew himself gave me a challenge.]"

Ambipom chuckled. "[What're you walking on eggshells around me, for? You're gonna make me feel like my strict-ass parents, or something.]"

He rubbed the back of his head. "[Eheh, sorry.]"

"[S'alright. Anyway… how about the same thing I have going on with Buneary, herself? She loses, you lose, and if she wins, you win.]" She extended one of her tails' hands. "[Deal?]"

Taking hold of a finger tip, he shook it. "[Deal! Prepare to give me _more_ than just ketchup!]"

She smirked evilly. "[We'll see!]" She paused. "[… Wait… I thought there was a 'part two' to your ketchup bet, anyway.]"

He huffed. "[Oh, there is, don't worry! Won't stop me from snagging another bet, though!]"

"[Hmph, well then, when I win, I'd better make _this_ bet even _worse_ to make up for it, then, huh?]"

He gave her a cocky look. "[Try it!]"

"[Ohh, worry already fills me…]" Piplup said, looking appropriately fearful.

Buizel sighed in an amused way. "[I wonder if Buneary's nose is gonna bleed again, like the last time you lost a bet…]"

Pikachu's face warmed. "[… Probably.]" He fully turned his attention back to the battle.

Buneary and Pachirisu were currently zipping back and forth in an evasive maneuver. Pachirisu ran on his two legs and Buneary hopped around sporadically. Gliscor was looking vastly overwhelmed, but he was following Ash's commands as best as he could. Staying in the air, and randomly swooping down to strike out whenever they were under him.

Eventually, Ash gave a strange order, causing Gliscor to look at the trainer as if he'd grown two heads. Recovering, the scorpion got into position on the ground, standing with his pincers spread out as if he was inviting them to hit him.

Accepting the free shot, Buneary fired off an Ice Beam towards him on Dawn's orders. Just as it was about to hit Gliscor, however… the scorpion twisted around on the spot when Ash gave the order, causing the Ice Beam to hit his now-glowing cape.

Unexpectedly, the attack wildly ricocheted off, sending icy lasers in all sorts of different directions. One of them struck Pachirisu's side, sending him sprawling to the ground, partially coated in ice.

With barely enough time for her to guard, another one slammed into Buneary, sending her flying. It hadn't frozen her much, but she crashed pretty harshly into the ground, and was sent rolling backwards. Eventually, she came to a stop when she smacked into the block of ice containing Staraptor. Landing on her front, the rabbit lay there, dazed.

Pikachu and his friends all flinched and groaned in sympathetic pain.

"[Oh no…]" Pikachu mumbled, frowning worriedly. His frown deepened when he saw the ice cracking, and Staraptor beginning to stir from within. "[Oh _no!_ ]" he said loudly, jolting upright.

Buneary began to push herself upwards, though not in time to escape the ice exploding, which knocked her to the floor again.

After a victory cry from Ash, he gave the command for the worst possible thing to happen.

Close Combat.

Pikachu looked to Pachirisu to see if he could help the rabbit, but it was no use. The squirrel was too far away, still working on freeing himself from the ice. "[Oh… crap,]" Pikachu muttered.

Staraptor scooped Buneary up and flung her, squealing, into the air. Time almost seemed to slow to a crawl as she fell back down to earth, towards the waiting bird of prey below.

Pikachu's heart stopped dead in his chest. There was _no_ way she was going to get past this…

Giving out a battle cry, Staraptor flew straight upwards. Twirling quickly, he sent a talon flying towards her. It slammed directly into her fluffy backside, cutting her screams short. He followed up with another twirl and a swipe of his wing. Smacking it into her side. She was sent flying away, through the air.

Amongst Buizel's and, more worryingly, Ambipom's cheers, Pikachu inhaled sharply. Shit…

He sighed and began turning towards Ambipom, ready to concede defeat to her. However, he snapped to attention when he noticed Buneary tumbling back down from the sky, out of the corner of his eye…

… towards _him._

Squealing, Pikachu scrambled to get out of the way. He barely got to his feet before he was sent sprawling across Mamoswine's back.

Groaning, he lay there with his eyes closed, willing his entire body to stop aching. After a short pause, he realized that the aching felt more like a weight was on top of him. Also, his entire face felt very itchy. What the…?

Opening his eyes, he jolted slightly. His entire vision was obscured by a cloud of cream cotton.

He absentmindedly tried to move it out of his eyes. Pushing it upwards, the fluff pressed against something that felt strangely soft. A loud yelp rang out soon afterwards.

Catching on, he felt his face begin to warm significantly, and not just because of the warm fluff. Oh dear… he could only wonder what part of Buneary had landed on top of him… and whether she'd somehow engineered this to happen or not.

That said, he could feel something somewhat squishy against his stomach. Something that felt suspiciously like a girl's chest, bound by the layers of fur coverings most pokémon girls have in that area, which kept them covered up.

So… she was lying face down on top of him. That meant that he'd almost touched her…

… Uh oh.

Seemingly recovering from the shock, Buneary chuckled through some pained pants. "[You should've… told me you were… ready for _that_ stage of our… relationship,]" she muttered teasingly.

Judging from the direction of her voice, and the fact he could feel a weight on his crotch… he guessed that he'd been absolutely right. The others were probably getting a very amusing show, weren't they? Hearing their laughter once they realized what was happening all but confirmed it.

"[… Um… eheh, um… y-you wish,]" he stuttered.

Oh well… thankfully, it had felt like whatever he had touched had been covered up. Most, if not all, pokémon had all their parts covered with layers of very thin, yet sturdy pieces of fur, membranes, or whatever… and it seemed Buneary was no different, even with all the fluff on top of that.

Pikachu felt a jolt of adrenaline rush through his heart as he realized just how close he'd come to touching something he shouldn't have done. Yeesh, if she hadn't had that safety covering on her, then…

He gulped. "[Er… mind getting your face out of my, um… my groin?]" he asked.

She wheezed out a giggle. "[Aww… but you're allowed to… put your handsome one into mine? No… fair~]" she chimed between breaths.

Despite how flushed his cheeks felt, he couldn't stop the grin on his face from forming. "[H-Har har…]"

Humming in amusement, she slowly slid off him. "[Alright, fine… maybe on our honeymoon, instead, huh?]" she said, winking at him. Notably, her face was just as red as his felt.

Pushing himself up into a seated position, he rolled his eyes. "[Yeah… we'll see about that.]" He faltered when he got a good look at her. She had a nasty bruise on her side, and she was barely holding herself up. "[Oh, wow… you okay?]" he asked, frowning in concern.

She took a sharp breath and nodded confidently. "[Yeah… never better!]" She slowly turned to face the battlefield and began to walk towards it.

Jumping to his feet, Pikachu ran up to her and gently gripped her shoulder. When she turned to face him, he gave her a worried look. "[C'mon, don't push yourself. You know it won't end well if you go back down there like… _this,_ ]" he said, gesturing towards her battered body. Remembering his bet with Ambipom, he gulped down his worry and continued. "[You should… probably quit, before they really wreck you.]"

She shook her head. "[I can't just… leave lil' Pachirisu all on his own down there. So it's no good. I'm… I'm going for it.]"

He held his gaze with her for a short while before sighing. "[Well… if you're sure.]" He smiled. "[Stay safe, won't ya?]"

She smiled back. "[Yeah… I will.]" She giggled. "[Look at you, worrying so much about little ol' me, though~]" She winked flirtatiously. "[Does this mean I'm… getting close to a date?]"

He gave her an incredulous look before bursting into laughter. "[You're horribly injured and about to go straight back into the fray… and you're _still_ flirting with me?]"

She giggled again and nuzzled him on the nose with hers. "[Through rain and snow, lover boy~!]"

His chuckles continued. "[C-Clearly…]" His laughter grew a little sheepish when his mind clicked onto her nuzzling him. He felt his already warm face heat up further.

Before too long, she pulled away and faced the battlefield again. He tried not to let his mild disappointment show. "[Bye, everyone!]" she called out, allowing forceful gusts of wind to envelop both her feet with the use of Bounce. After a farewell from everyone, Pikachu included, she leapt into the air. The mouse couldn't see her land because of Mamoswine's head, but the loud squawk from Staraptor that soon followed gave him a good idea of how that'd gone.

Noticing Piplup, Ambipom, and Buizel giving him amused glances - the latter out of the corner of his eye - Pikachu sighed lightly. "[Er… what?]" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"[You two, I swear,]" Ambipom said, holding back her chuckles. "[It's so adorable, I might need some heart medicine, or something.]"

"[Thanks…]" Pikachu mumbled awkwardly. He picked up his piece of paper - which had fallen onto Mamoswine's back because of the collision - and tucked it behind his ear again.

"[Methinks…]" Piplup started between his sniggering, "[the mouse doth protest his feelings too much.]" He gave the mouse a quick look over and sniggered harder. "[… Though perhaps certain parts of said mouse's anatomy disagree…!]"

Ambipom followed the penguin's gaze before pausing, eyes wide. She burst into laughter. "[Um… guess you enjoyed yourself, buddy, didn't ya?]" she joked.

Buizel also gave a quick glance. Groaning, he turned back to the battle. "[Arceus alive…]" he muttered, shaking his head.

Face warming, Pikachu faltered out of confusion. "[What…?]" he started, letting his gaze slowly trail down to wherever they'd been looking.

Upon seeing the large yellow lump of fur bulging from lower down, he immediately stiffened, face burning. "[O-Oh! U-U-Um…]" he stuttered, bringing his tail out from behind him and holding it down low. Oh, jeez, how hadn't he noticed that!? "[… Ignore that.]"

"[How could we? It's a fair rival to the length of my beak!]" Piplup joked. "[It falls just short of putting _me_ to shame!]"

Pikachu's face warmed further. "[Ugh… w-why must?]"

With a drawn-out breath, Ambipom wiped a tear away. "[Heh… bet you're glad us pokémon are always covered in fur, feathers and other stuff that keeps us decent, huh?]" she said. "[A gift from Lord Mew himself, for sure.]"

"[It is almost like the very technology our pokéballs use,]" Piplup added, "[except, of course, for our… special valuables.]"

"[Y-Yeah… and yeah again,]" Pikachu mumbled, facing away. "[Not… sure how it works, exactly… but whatever stops Buneary from seeing stuff she's only ever s-seen in her dreams. Eheh…]"

The two jokesters chuckled again.

"[The images I have of the stuff happening on my back…]" Mamoswine said dryly. "[I'm gonna need showers for weeks, aren't I?]"

Pikachu's grip on his tail tightened slightly. "[I-I didn't do anything, though!]" he replied quickly.

"[Sure.]"

Having recovered from a startled jump that the mammoth's surprise comment had caused, Ambipom sighed exasperatedly. "[Yo, mind giving me a warning before you surprise the crud outta me?]"

The mammoth huffed. "[More fun this way.]"

Pikachu grumbled to himself. Damn that bunny… he was just lucky that she'd been doubly covered up, with her fluff and her fur, or else he dreaded to imagine what might've happened.

… Not that it was all _that_ bad of an image, admittedly...

Out of nowhere, he noticed some ice-covered hearts floating upwards towards the sky, like balloons. The second he saw them, he started. "[Oh, the fight!]" Dropping his tail, he quickly moved over to the others again and took his seat next to Piplup.

Now able to see over Mamoswine's head, he got a glimpse of the action. Buneary and Pachirisu were shooting their Ice Beam and Sweet Kiss attacks towards each other, forming icy hearts that floated upwards in different directions.

The two fliers were keeping their distance high in the air, wondering what was going on. Staraptor accidentally brushed against one of the icy hearts, which exploded, coating the bird in a flurry of blue and pink sparkles. He squawked loudly and began to flap around wildly, obviously dazed and chilled to the bone.

Seeing that, Gliscor began to freak out, with tears streaming down his face.

The two flying-types calmed somewhat when Ash called out to them. Gaining their attention, he gave the immediate order for them to take evasive action, which they happily obeyed.

Unfortunately for them, the skies were becoming much harder to navigate. The cold hearts littered the air like sea mines, and Buneary and Pachirisu just kept on forming more and more, releasing them in the direction of the flying-types.

Pikachu tried to focus on them diving around the deadly hearts, but he kept getting distracted by Piplup's sniggers. When he turned to face him, he saw the penguin stealing glances at his… Oh. Right. He forgot to deal with that.

Blushing and grumbling, he put his hands on his crotch. Piplup only chuckled harder.

"[Friend, I think it would best benefit you to tend to that,]" he said, grinning cheekily.

"[H-How?]" Pikachu responded. "[I'm not going to… um…]" His face heated further, "[… y'know. _That,_ while watching battles.]"

"[Haha, not necessary! Here.]" He held his flippers in front of his beak and began to form a bubble from it. When it was about half his size, he took hold of it and offered it to the mouse. "[Here. An _amazing_ substitute for a cold shower!]"

Sighing, Pikachu took it and held it to his belly. It felt cool to the touch, especially against his little… problem, so it was something. "[Thanks, Piplup…]"

"[Not a problem!]"

Exhaling, Pikachu leaned against it. It was surprisingly comfortable, just like having a pillow. It was transparent, which was slightly worrying, but there was certainly enough action going on to distract everyone.

He went back to focusing on the aerial gymnastics show the two flying-types were putting on. They swerved and dived around the many ice hearts in such a graceful manner, almost like something you would see in an air show. It was a sight for the eyes.

Just as Gliscor used Fire Fang to ward away one that had appeared right in front of him, Pikachu heard a surprised cry from behind Mamoswine. Curious, he angled his unoccupied ear towards it.

"[Um, h-hi! Hello!]" the pokémon hidden behind Mamoswine started. It sounded like his friend, Sudowoodo. "[You're… um… I don't think I've seen you around here, before! Hahaha! So… h-how're you?]"

Pikachu tilted his head. Had a wild pokémon shown up to watch the battle, or something?

Well, either way, at least Sudowoodo was enjoying himself with his new friend. Or, judging by how amazingly awkward he was acting, his new crush. Pikachu hadn't known him to be much of a flirter, unlike his trainer, Brock, so the girl must've been real special.

He would've continued to listen in, but a sudden order from Ash caught his attention. He was calling to the two flying-types, asking them to go lower, below all of the icy chaos around them.

They complied, though Dawn countered with her own instruction. Hearing it, her two pokémon stopped producing icy hearts and instead clung to each other. After a pause, Buneary used Bounce to leap high into the air with wind-coated feet, carrying Pachirisu with her.

Once high above the storm of frosted hearts, Pachirisu leapt from her arms and used Discharge, which kept him in place as Buneary quickly fell back down. His dozens of blue lightning bolts all struck different hearts, before spreading to the surrounding hearts, connecting them all like a giant, electrical web.

Unsurprisingly, the hearts eventually exploded, releasing a flurry of blue and pink dust. It rained down onto the flying-types below, almost like snowflakes.

As expected, Gliscor began to freak out. That is, until the freezing cold spray of heart matter poured onto him, covering him.

He cried out while crying and began flying about erratically, as if in a daze. Moments later, he went careening towards the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust when he crashed violently. He lay there with his tongue sticking out, looking unconscious.

Pikachu and Piplup cheered at the scorpion's defeat. Ambipom almost joined in, but she caught herself and frowned worriedly, most likely realizing that this didn't bode well for her bet. Buizel simply clicked his tongue, looking disappointed.

Pikachu stopped cheering when he noticed that Staraptor wasn't going down so easily. The bird had screeched at the attack hitting him, but he stood his ground, flying in place and resisting the cold spray of death.

On Ash's command, he flew straight upwards, slicing through the attack to go into the safety of the now-clear skies. Once he was out of harm's way, he set his sights on Pachirisu, who had just stopped his Discharge and begun to fall back down.

Like a hawk, Staraptor swooped down towards the squirrel, who squeaked loudly in response.

Pikachu gasped, along with Piplup and Ambipom. Oh, that poor kid…

Staraptor closed in on Pachirisu and, on Ash's order, got ready to slam a talon down on the squirrel. He was inches above Pachirisu's head before the kid was pushed out of the way, only to be replaced with Buneary. The talon slammed down onto her face, sending her sailing down to the field below, where she met a similar fate to Gliscor. Inside a small crater, dazed.

The bubble under Pikachu's paws popped loudly as he squeezed it too hard. He barely registered the stinging sensation it had left behind. No! _What!?_ Dawn hadn't even told her to do that, so why had she taken his place!?

Piplup and Buizel both made sounds of surprise. Ambipom's happy chimes, however, were what sent Pikachu's blood draining from his face. Oh no… this meant that Ambipom had won the freaking bet. Buneary had lost the fight! _Shiiiiiit!_

"[Looks like I'm taking home the gold and glory this time, mousey boy!]" Ambipom said triumphantly.

"[Oh goody…]" Pikachu sighed. Drat. That didn't bode well for the future.

"[Rest in peace,]" Mamoswine added dryly.

Sighing, Pikachu focused back on the battle. He saw Pachirisu - still falling through the air - striking back with a Discharge, which Dawn hadn't ordered. It struck Staraptor, violently knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

From there, Pachirisu took Dawn's order to wrap himself up in his tail and use Sweet Kiss to surround himself in a large heart. When he hit the ground, the heart absorbed the impact and burst, cushioning his fall.

Now on his feet, he beamed brightly upon realizing that he'd won. He beamed even brighter as everyone cheered for him, including Dawn.

Amongst Piplup and Ambipom's cheers, and Buizel's disappointed groan, Pikachu smiled lightly. Well, if nothing, Buneary's sacrifice had allowed the little tyke to carry on and win the fight. It had meant that the mouse was due for something horrible, but… seeing the little squirrel so happy about his victory made it feel worthwhile, somehow.

The mouse made a mental note to praise Buneary for being so selfless, later. Once she recovered, and he was done with whatever Ambipom had in store for him, anyway.

Seeing the monkey turn to face him, grin widening, he gulped. Speaking of which...

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Finished:** 18/08 (August)/2017

 **Word count:** 7,876

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Man, it's been a while, huh? Guess you could even say that the chapter… was late! Fufufu! xd

Ah well, hope you liked the chapter, all the same! Oh, by the by, are you wondering about Buneary's weird windy Bounce? That's actually an idea I had for Game-Changer, but I liked it so much that I decided to put it in here, too. May as well, right?

Also, if you're confused about the crotch coverings… don't think about it too hard. I just wanted to have an excuse for them to be covered up, which makes things a bit more awkward down the line. XP

Basically, it keeps their fronts and their asses covered up, so no one can see. That is, unless one gets a bit too 'excited', in which case one may see some embarrassing bulging. XP

 **Debateable fanfic tip #3** **(Good chapter names help people give a shit!) : **Have you ever gone back to a fic you love, and wanted to find a specific chapter… but all the chapter names are just numbers? Or perhaps you're just a horny pup who wants the lemony goods… but when you dived in for a saucy-looking part of the fic, you were outta luck, because all the chapters were just 'Chapter 5' or whatever?

Well, whatever your reasons, I'm sure other people would feel the same way about _your_ stuff if you forget to label it. So giving chapters names can be pretty important, if you're wanting your fic to be as readable as possible. Not to mention, a lot more memorable, seeing as remembering names is generally easier than remembering numbers, which will also lead to people remembering events in your fic a bit more.

On top of that, chapter names can build up hype and suspense for anyone who's interested in reading for the first time. I mean, who wouldn't be eager to read something like: 'The Naughty Day,' or 'When The Hope Dies,' amirite?

All that said, it's hard to think of a chapter name sometimes, isn't it? Well, don't worry. Just find a naming convention for your fic to help get you started and to keep things tidy and consistent. Stuff like song names, alliteration, a character's mood… just whatever fits your fancy!

Take this fic, for example. Its naming convention is 'The [Whatever] That [Whatever].' A bit pretentious, but it fits well enough, as everyone will find out eventually. XP

Anyway, after you've worked on a theme, it's as simple as describing what happens in the chapter using your chapter naming rules. Best not to stress out about it too much, though. Pretty much anything will do, as long as it's relevant enough.

That said, if you ask me, the best kinds of chapter titles are ones that hint at events without spoiling anything. Stuff that stabs at the curiosity, as it were.

Well, that's all I wanted to say this time. I guess the only other thing I can say is: if your chapter title is too long to fit in the scroll bar, best thing to do is put the long title in the fic itself, and just keep a shortened version for the scroll bar. Should help a little, hopefully! :D

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** … No way, **crew** that!'

(In order to have a true shipping, one must first give it a crew of its own, I guess.)

 **#2: '** As everyone's eyes went **on** him,'

(Everyone threw their eyes at Pachirisu, which stuck to him. That's some Binding of Isaac-tier shiz right there!)

 **#3: '** She look turned into a concerned one.'

(Sounds painful.)

 **#4:** 'letting his cheeks **sparkle** for effects.'

(Fabulous as that sounds, who is he think he is? Edward Cullen?)

 **#5:** 'Bouncing high into the air to barely dodge Staraptor's Brave Bird-powered tackle Brave Bird '

(Brave bird is apparently powered by, get this… Brave Bird. Either that, or his dong's powered by Brave bird and, with bad grammar, I'm congratulating his bravery. You decide.)

 **#6:** "[Man, where even is he?]" Ambipom asked aloud, sitting on top of Mamoswine.

(Didn't specify _where_ on Mamoswine she was. Oh dear. Kinky new shipping away!)

 **#7:** 'towards the waiting bird of **pray** below.'

(Staraptor becomes a man of God!)

 **#8:** 'Smirking evilly, Staraptor swung at her with a wing **as she came .** '

(What a rude thing to do to someone who was simply thinking of Pikachu too much…)

 **#9:** 'Yeesh, if she hadn't had that **safety covering her** , then…'

(Wear protection, kiddies!)

 **#10:** 'She took a sharp breath and nodded **confidentially.** '

(Nobody must know about her nodding…)

 **#11:** 'Unsurprisingly, the hearts eventually gave out,'

(It makes it sound like everyone involved had a frigging heart attack.)

 **#12:** 'where she met a similar **end** to Gliscor.'

(Buneary died, confirmed for canon.)

 **#13:** 'where she met a similar fate to Gliscor. Inside a small **creator** '

(I didn't know Pikachu created stuff. Honhonhon! Also, having the words 'fate' and 'Gliscor' in the same sentence will forever remind me of PokeMaster64 and his fic, Sealed Fate.)

Alrighty, with that out the way, 'tis time for me to get some more reviews done. Maybe. I'm falling behind on **'Miracles'** and **'Pikachu & Buneary's Unspoken Love'** (which are both in my favourites list, wink wink nudge nudge). So I'd better get writing soon. Along with you guys too, I hope… XP

Ah well, either way… tata for now! c:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Bet!


	4. The Bet That Was Revealing

Pikachu gently placed a wet cloth onto the side of Buneary's face to soothe a small bruise she had there. An easy job, considering she was laying on the grass in front of him, unconscious… but he wanted to be careful, all the same. Nothing was worse than agitating a bruise, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

She could've just gone into her pokéball to rest up, but Dawn had been quick to ask if Pikachu wanted to look after her, instead. He'd found it odd at first… but then he'd seen Dawn giving him that adoring look she always had on her face, whenever he was close to Buneary. After that, everything had made sense. That sly devil.

Happy that the wet cloth was in place, he sighed to himself and sat down next to her, leaning against a small, nearby tree. He still couldn't believe she'd done that, just for Pachirisu's sake. Dawn hadn't even ordered her to do it, as far as he knew. Normally, the rabbit would go out of her way to look as impressive as possible, so to let that go just for the little squirrel's sake…

He smiled softly. There was a reason the kid looked up to her, he supposed. A good reason, indeed.

His smile faded away as he recalled the bet looming over him. Ugh, damn it all. While he was glad that Buneary had chosen to be a saint, he just wished that it didn't have to involve him losing to Ambipom, too. The monkey hadn't told him what it was he had to do, yet, but he could only imagine what Hell he was in for, knowing her.

He still remembered one time when she'd made him sing loudly during lunch, or the time she'd made him do a wink and a pose after every action during training. Or… the horrible incident from the _last time_ he'd lost a bet…

Shivering, he took a deep breath and looked to the side. He saw Ash and Dawn training with Grotle and Mamoswine, respectively. This time in a singles match, what with Dawn only having five pokémon to fight with.

As the mouse's eyes met Ash's, he gave his trainer a thumbs up, which was happily returned. What a bud… Pikachu still remembered when he and Ash had gotten off on the wrong foot, back when they barely knew each other. Things were certainly different, now!

Smirking happily, he glanced around some more. He noticed Buizel watching the battle intently, and Ambipom talking to Staraptor and Gliscor, who had recently recovered from their beatdown. If the mouse had to guess, she was probably congratulating them on beating Buneary, for obvious reasons.

Slowly shaking his head, and then pushing the paper he'd tucked behind his ear back in place, Pikachu turned back to Buneary. When he did, he suddenly noticed someone was standing to his side.

Jumping in surprise, he turned his head towards them. Seeing that it was Pachirisu and Happiny, he exhaled slowly and smiled. "[Oh, er… hey, kids!]" he said.

"[Hello~!]" Happiny responded.

"[Hey…]" Pachirisu replied, nibbling on his tail.

Pikachu eyed him up worriedly. "[Hey, what's wrong, lil' buddy?]" he asked.

"[She'll… be alright, won't she?]" the squirrel asked.

Pikachu smiled reassuringly. "[Yeah, of course! She's been through way worse before, and lived to tell the tale.]"

Pachirisu stopped nibbling as much. "[Really?]"

"[You bet! This bunny's made of some tough stuff.]"

"[Ya! So stop the worry, Pachirisu!]" Happiny added. "[She'll be all good and stuff when her boyfriend is done looking after her, and… stuffs.]"

"[Ooh, I hope so…]" Pachirisu replied. "[I didn't want Buneary to get hurt because of me…]"

Playfully rolling his eyes at the pink egg's 'boyfriend' comment, Pikachu shook his head. "[It's not your fault, kiddo. You didn't ask her to do anything.]"

"[Ya ya!]" Happiny agreed. "[She didded it all by herself. Right?]"

Pikachu nodded. "[Right!]"

Pachirisu smiled softly, though he went back to nibbling on his tail.

Grinning gently, Pikachu stood up. "[Hey, kids, wanna see something cool?]"

They looked up at him curiously.

"[Wazzat?]" Happiny asked.

Pikachu puffed out his cheeks and folded his ears, to make them look spikier. After that, he puffed out his tail to make it look more squirrel-like. "[Um, ta-dah! Chipa!]" he chimed.

The kids laughed at his silly display.

"[Teehee, it's yellow me!]" Pachirisu said in amusement.

"[Yup! And that's not all…]" Pikachu replied with a chuckle, letting his body go back to normal. Sitting down, he puffed out his body as much as possible, trying to make himself look like a small egg. After that, he twisted one ear against his head and let the other ear flop behind him, to give the appearance of a fringe and a ponytail. "[And now I'm you, Happiny! Um… happiny~]"

Happiny giggled and hopped up and down excitedly. "[ _Sweeeet~!_ ]" she chimed.

"[You're so great at that, Pikachu!]" Pachirisu praised. "[I wanna get good at… um… that, too!]"

"[My imitation skills?]" Pikachu asked, letting himself go back to normal.

"[Yeah! That!]"

Pikachu hummed in amusement. "[Well, it might not be too easy. Lucky for me, I've pretty much had this skill since I met Ash. So, like some humans who can wiggle their ears, I don't think it's something that goes around very easily.]"

Pachirisu looked disappointed. "[Aww…]"

"[Hey, don't worry, though. Even if you can't imitate people, you still have you own super special skill, don't'cha?]"

The squirrel tilted his head. "[Huh?]"

"[Yeah! No one I've ever known can run as fast as you. And with that electricity of yours, you could power a small house!]"

Pachirisu blushed a little. "[Oh, I-I… guess so!]"

"[What about me? Can I special skill?]" Happiny asked excitedly.

Pikachu chuckled again. "[You sure can! You're pretty much the strongest baby of all time, which is real special, if ya ask me.]"

She beamed. "[Hee, thanks!]" She wandered over to the tree next to them and lifted it up. Funnily, it didn't have roots, so Pikachu assumed it was dead.

Pachirisu looked impressed. "[That's soo cool!]"

Pikachu smiled. "[Sure is! It didn't even wobble when I was sitting against it.]"

Making a happy noise, Happiny tossed it to the side. It made an audible _thud_ and lightly shook the ground when it crashed against the floor.

"[So yeah, see what I mean, guys?]" Pikachu continued. "[Even if you can't do what _I_ can do, you've got stuff that's unique to you, too!]"

"[That is correct, my friend!]" Piplup chimed in, waddling over while carrying a load of berries. "[Not everybody can do some things… but everyone can do _something!_ ]"

"[Unless they're you, right?]" Pachirisu replied, giggling.

Piplup huffed amusedly. "[Perhaps so, Pachirisu. There is an exception to every rule, after all!]"

"[Oh brother…]" Pikachu remarked, smirking. "[You wish, man.]"

Putting the berries down, Piplup flicked him on the nose in mock irritation, earning some chuckles from the kids. Pikachu just rubbed his nose, his smirk never leaving his face.

The penguin handed the kids a berry each. "[Okay, you two. I wish to have a word with Pikachu, so you go have fun elsewhere!]" he said, shooing them off.

Squealing happily, Happiny immediately started nibbling on her berry. "[Okayyy~]" she replied, getting juices everywhere. She walked away shortly afterwards.

"[Okie dokes!]" Pachirisu replied, moving elsewhere with both paws wrapped around his berry. "[Please take care of Buneary!]"

"[She's in good hands!]" Pikachu replied, waving them away.

Once the kids were out of earshot, Piplup started talking again. "[They're a fine pair of kids, are they not?]" he asked.

"[Got that right,]" Pikachu replied with a warm smile.

Piplup sniggered. "['Tis good practice for when you and Buneary are popping out some offspring of your own, eh?]" he said, nudging Pikachu in the shoulder.

Face warming slightly, Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Whatever ya say, Piplup…]"

The penguin sniggered again. Moving over to Buneary, his look suddenly grew slightly concerned. "[So, how's she faring? She took an especially effective attack directly to the head, so that cannot have been comfortable.]"

"[Can't imagine so, no…]" Pikachu replied before smiling. "[But it's good. She's already getting a little better. That gal's a tough one.]"

Piplup huffed in amusement. "[Correct as you are, it does not look like she is set to wake up any time, soon.]"

"[Yeah… but hey. I don't think it'll take too long, either.]"

"[We can only hope, considering how far away from any pokémon centers we are. That is what Brock said, anyway. None until we get to Sandalstraw Town tonight, anyway.]"

"[S'plains why I was told to look after Buneary, then…]" Though Pikachu still knew that probably wasn't the _only_ reason. "[Still don't know why Brock couldn't just use some super potions or whatever, though.]"

"[He has none to his name. He used them all up after our trip to that beauty contest in the middle of nowhere the other day. The one filled with women.]"

"[Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I don't think I've ever seen Croagunk work so hard in a day…]"

Piplup nodded. "[Me neither, my friend. Me neither. Poor, poor Brock…]" He picked up the wet cloth on Buneary's head to spray it with a little water from his flipper. Done with that, he tried putting it back on her face. However, he fumbled slightly, eventually dropping it messily on her face with a soft, wet slap. "[Gah! Accursed flippers!]" he said in annoyance.

"[Heh, hey, don't worry,]" Pikachu said, picking up the cloth and applying it properly. "[At least you're nowhere near as clumsy as you used to be, huh?]"

"[I suppose…]" Piplup pulled an exasperated face. "[Ugh. The trials and tribulations of being a bird…]"

Pikachu picked up a random berry. "[You say that when your moves are so pretty out on stage every contest.]"

Piplup grinned proudly. "[Thank you, friend. Despite my shortcomings, it would be a cold day in Hell before my contests suffer, too.]"

"[You're right about _that_!]" Pikachu replied, biting into the small, pink berry. Chewing, he smiled as its sweet taste spread across his tongue. When he swallowed, a horrible bitter aftertaste suddenly caught him off-guard, making him gag slightly. "[Oh, good lord, that's bitter! What is this?]" he said, pulling a face.

"[Oh, sorry. That's a… magost berry, I think it was? They are widely used as an ingredient for poffins and pokéblocks.]"

"[Hm, okay then. Blech.]"

Piplup reached into the berry pile and pulled out another one. "[Here you go! Another one to make up for the last one,]" he said, offering it to the mouse. "[It should taste better, if I'm correct.]"

Sighing, Pikachu smiled and took it. "[Alright, thanks.]" Noting that it kind of looked like a strawberry - a reassuring thing to see, because those were pretty sweet - he chewed into it. Eyes widening, he spat it out. "[What the-!? Ew, that's even _more_ bitter!]"

"[Ooops!]" Piplup said, smirking lightly.

Pikachu frowned, paws on his hips. "[You totally did that on purpose, didn't you?]"

The penguin laughed. "[Caught red-winged.]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes and groaned.

"[Here, allow me to make it up to you with this,]" Piplup continued, throwing him a small, banana-shaped berry. "[A nanab berry! Fresh from the vine!]"

Pikachu smiled again. "[Well, I sure like bananas, so why not?]" he said, lifting it to his mouth.

"[Just like Ambipom, then! Ask her anything about bananas, and she will tell you about them.]"

Pikachu began to chew on it. "[Yeah, I'll- _Urghhh!_ ]" He plucked its gooey, bitter remains out of his mouth while pulling a face.

Piplup fell into a fit of giggles. "[Oops, again!]"

Pikachu grumpily flicked the berry to the ground. He could still taste the sweetness on his tongue, but it came with the horrible bitterness from before, so he didn't appreciate it. "[For crying out loud, Piplup!]" he replied, frowning at him.

"[What's going on?]" Ambipom asked suddenly, coming closer. "[I heard the word 'bananas', and then some shenanigans, so I'd better get some answers, boys. They're two of my favorite things!]"

"[Nothing, my dear girl, nothing!]" Piplup responded, barely holding back laughter. "[I was just about to offer Pikachu another apology berry. For all the bitter ones I… um, _accidentally_ gave him. Here you go, my friend!]" He scanned the pile for a while before picking up another one and handing it to the mouse.

Pikachu suspiciously eyed up the odd-looking red berry with peeling skin. "[Um…]"

"[This one is better, I promise! It has the sweetness of a thousand donuts!]"

"[Well… I _do_ like donuts, I guess,]" Pikachu replied. He took it from the penguin and slipped it into his mouth. It had a very strange, sweet-like taste about it, which… was honestly, really good! Not to mention, strangely nostalgic…

… until the horrible bitterness kicked in and made him spit it back out, nearly choking. "[ _Aghhh,_ damn you, Piplup, you fricker!]" he cried.

Piplup could barely stop himself from rolling on the ground laughing. Ambipom also looked like she was about to crack up.

"[Haha, nice one, man,]" the monkey said, patting Piplup on the head. "[This is why you and me are friends.]"

"[R-Right you are, Ambipom!]" the penguin replied, still laughing up a storm.

Recovering from the horrible berry, Pikachu frowned at them both. "[Oh, I'll frigging bet, you bastards…]" he grumbled.

Inhaling slowly to recover, Piplup shook his head. "[Okay, I am truly sorry, my friend. I shall make it up to you, yet. For real, this time.]"

"[… Really?]"

Piplup nodded. He glanced around at the berries and picked one up to hand over. "[Really.]"

Sighing, Pikachu took the berry and looked it over. It looked rather green, so he was immediately suspicious.

"[An aguav berry, if you're wondering,]" Piplup explain, probably noting the look Pikachu was giving it. "[It is far nicer than it looks, I assure you.]"

"[Well… okay…]" Pikachu replied before biting into the corner of the berry. After chewing it for a while, he noticed that, while it did taste rather… plant-like, it wasn't really all that bad. "[Hey, this is nice, actually.]"

"[Isn't it?]" Piplup said, smiling widely. "[I hear it gets even better near the stem!]"

"[Okay, cool.]" Pikachu bit into the section of the berry that connected to the stem. "[Thish- _Ulp!?_ ]" Oh, dear sweet shitting Jesus, it was _bitter!_

He spat it out with as much force as he could. Piplup and Ambipom broke into fits of laughter at the sight.

"[Strike four! _Yes!_ ]" Piplup sang, laughing again immediately afterwards.

"[Oh, screw me, sideways…]" Pikachu muttered. He glared at them. "[Aghhh, I hate you frigging guys so… much…]" He began to feel really strange and woozy. Not to mention really bitter, suiting the berries he'd just eaten.

"[Better not say that around Buneary,]" Ambipom joked when she calmed down. "[Even if she ain't quite with it, right now.]"

"[Definitely!]" Piplup replied. "[I have no doubt in my mind that they would be down and dirty in a heartbe-]" He trailed off. "[… Hey, are you… okay?]"

"[W-What do you… think…?…]" Pikachu said, finding it hard to stand as everything began to become blurry. Before it could get worse, he felt someone shove something into his mouth. Chewing on it, he began to feel okay and stable again. It even tasted a little good, though the bitter tastes lingering in his mouth made it impossible to make out its flavor properly. Drat…

"[Those berries cause confusion, bro!]" Ambipom said. "[Nothin' to worry about, though, 'cos we've got persims!]"

"[Ah, I did not know that. Sorry,]" Piplup said, not looking as sorry as Pikachu would've liked, but whatever.

"[Well, thanks, Ambipom, I guess,]" Pikachu said to the monkey.

She grinned in response. "[Hey, no probs. Anyway, speaking of Little Miss Shameless…]" she said, reaching for a yellow berry with one of her tails, "[I'd better help her out a bit. Wet cloths are good, but with some sitrus berries, she'll be fit as a fiddle in minutes.]"

"[Always the berry expert,]" Piplup said. "[It is no wonder that my berry trolling has improved drastically over the months. What with a tutor such as you.]"

"[No kidding,]" Pikachu said, frowning dryly.

"[I aim to please,]" Ambipom replied with a chuckle. Investigating Buneary, she clicked her tongue. "[What? No ice pack?]"

"[I couldn't find one,]" Pikachu responded. "[And we can't exactly ask _her_ to give us any ice, when she's like this.]"

"[Then ask Mamoswine! He's a blatant ice-type.]"

Pikachu blinked. "[… Oh yeah. I always forget that.]"

Groaning, she shrugged sassily. "[Now, see, _this_ is why we never ask you for advice.]"

Pikachu could only chuckle sheepishly in response. "[… Good point.]"

Rolling her eyes, the monkey burst open the berry and let its juices spread over Buneary before rubbing them into her fur.

The sight of the lotion-like juice being slowly spread across the rabbit's body sent strange shivers up Pikachu's spine. Especially as Ambipom worked the chest area. So, to distract himself, he turned to glare at Piplup, instead. "[U-Um, anyway, that's the last time I trust _your_ berry advice, man!]" he complained.

"[I do not see why. Ambipom always praises those berries like she does the heavens,]" the penguin replied with a smirk.

"[I'll fucking send you to Heaven in a second, Piplup,]" Pikachu snarked with his paws to his hips.

"[Oh, quit ya whining, buddy!]" Ambipom remarked with a chuckle.

Pikachu turned to say something to her, but a berry thrown in his direction made him yelp as he scrambled to catch it. Once he had a firm hold of it, he took a look at it. It looked like a string of peas in a pod.

"[Now _this_ berry isn't going to make you upchuck everywhere,]" she explained. "[So eat it and cheer up, ya grouch!]"

Huffing, Pikachu bit into it. "[Yeah, alright. Thanks, Ambi- _Aghghhgh!_ ]" He spat it out in a near vomit. "[Oh… Arceus… _nooo!_ ]" he coughed.

Ambipom and Piplup both broke into laughter yet again.

"[Alright, I lied,]" Ambipom remarked. "[Getting on your nerves is just too funny to pass up.]"

"[For… crying out loud…]" Pikachu muttered. "[Screw… you, too…]"

"[Hehe! Consider it payback for the bet we made last week. Where you made me uncover my butt for, like, half an hour.]"

Remembering the incident, Pikachu managed a small snicker. "[Well… to be fair, you _almost_ got away with it without anyone noticing.]"

She cringed. "[Yeah, 'till I bent down right in full view of poor Piplup over here.]"

Piplup stopped laughing as much, his face reddening. "[Yes… what a day,]" he mumbled.

"[A day with no complaining from you at all, I'll bet,]" Pikachu replied with a sassy smirk. "[Especially after that comment of yours that was like… 'Which legendary did I please today for this to happen,' or something.]"

The penguin's face went way redder. "[ _Gah!_ What the freaking hell, Pikachu, don't tell her that!]" he yelled, flusteredly flailing around.

The monkey put her paws to her hips and gave him a look. "[Oh, you _did,_ did ya?]" she said.

He began to sweat. "[U-Um, w-well, y-y-y'know! Y'know? I, um…]" He blinked, something catching his attention. "[… Huh? What's with that picture of you and a… Another pokémon?]" he asked, pointing at something.

Hearing that, Pikachu jolted. Looking in the direction the penguin was pointing in, he saw the paper he'd been guarding, unraveled on the ground for everyone in the small group to see. The picture an old friend of Ash's had drawn, of Pikachu sleeping alongside another friend they'd made that day.

Pikachu groaned. "[Ahh, damn it all. Must've fallen off when you tried to poison me to death,]" he said, shooting him a frown. He moved over to pick it up.

"[Who was that next to ya?]" Ambipom asked. "[Looked kind of familiar…]"

Sighing, Pikachu left it on the ground. "[I'm surprised you didn't recognize her, honestly. You loving your mythical types, 'n' all.]"

"[Well, there's only _one_ 'mythical type' for me. You know that!]"

"[Hah, I guess.]" He pointed at the drawing of the delicately-framed pokémon sleeping soundly next to him. "[She's called Celebi. She's a friend me and Ash made at some point, during a trip to an enchanted forest.]"

Ambipom looked intrigued, though Piplup's eyes bulged. "[Celebi!?]" he shouted in surprise. "[You said mythical, but no, is that not a legendary pokémon? Like… a _very_ legendary legendary pokémon?]"

Pikachu smiled. "[You guessed it! Though you'd have never guessed it, talking to her. She was pretty modest about things. Not to mention pretty young. Like, newborn young, apparently.]"

"[A rare legendary babe, huh? Cool!]" Ambipom said. She shrugged. "[I mean… not as impressive as meeting Lord Mew could've been, but… hey, it's something!]"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Jeez, even if I'd met _Arceus,_ you wouldn't be impressed.]"

She looked perturbed. "[Ugh, no way, I'd be _horrified._ In my old clan, we viewed Arceus as the bringer of doomsday and the apocalypse.]"

Piplup chuckled. "[Wow, really? It is not the tale I usually hear being told. Most pokémon view him as a deity who created the land, the sea, the sky… everything!]" he said.

"[Well, I view him as a big dick end who took Pokélantis away from us.]" She paused for a second. "[… I mean, no offense if you're into him, but still.]"

Pikachu blinked. Huh… that was a place he, Ash and the old gang had visited sometime during their 'Battle Frontier' days in Kanto. Just a few days before meeting Ambipom, too, funnily enough. Maybe she was onto something…

"[None taken,]" Piplup responded to her. "[I do not tend to take much mind of legendaries and their tales, anyway.]"

"[So you don't believe in 'em?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Oh, but I do! At least, since the incident with Palkia and Dialga. And the one with Shaymin and Giratina.]"

"[All minions of the demon lord, Arceus, might I add,]" Ambipom interjected. "['Cept for Shaymin, obviously. She's cool.]"

Piplup crossed his arms. "[Speak for yourself! She was a vile vixen, she was. Always causing trouble for us while she was around.]"

She sniggered lightly. "[I'll bet you're just still salty that she bit you.]"

Piplup pouted. "[Damn straight! Right after her pancake thievery, too!]" He huffed. "[… Bitch.]"

She chuckled even louder. "[Well, you ain't wrong.]" She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and looked at Pikachu. "[Anyways, answers, buddy! What's with the paper?]"

"[Well, it's Ash's,]" he replied. "[I think he shoved it into his bag at some point, but it must've gotten free. Took me ages trying to catch the frigging thing, 'cos the wind kept catching it back.]"

"[Huh, okay then,]" she replied. "[Explains why you took a century and a half getting back to us with them berries.]"

He huffed. "[I didn't take _that_ long, c'mon.]"

"[When you're starved, minutes take _forever,_ believe me.]"

"[Please, don't stop there, Pikachu,]" Piplup interjected. "[How in Dawn's name did you find such a drawing? Did Ash draw both you and your legendary friend together?]"

Ambipom shrugged. "[Doubt it. There's no way Ash could draw _this_ well.]"

"[Right you are. He didn't,]" Pikachu replied, amused. "[It's a present! Ash saw it in a picture frame in Professor Oak's home, while calling him on his video phone… so Tracey made him a copy to take around with him.]"

"[Why… would he just have _that_ lying around?]" Ambipom asked, scratching her head.

"[Beats me. The guy who drew it was somebody from-…]" Pikachu paused before shaking his head. "[Actually, nah, forget it. I'll tell you guys more at lunch, like I was gonna do before.]"

His two friends groaned disappointedly.

"[This is totally because of the berries, ain't it?]" Ambipom asked dryly.

"[Heh, well, no, but now that you mention it… my throat still tastes like garbage, so yeah.]" He picked his piece of paper up, folded it and tucked it behind his ear. Turning to the others, he stuck his tongue out at them. "[… Nyeh!]"

They gave annoyed responses, which satisfied him greatly.

"[Besides,]" he continued, "[I'd rather get your...]" Pikachu gulped, "[... _bet_ outta the way first. For better or worse.]"

A big grin of realization grew on Ambipom's face. One that filled him with dread. "[Aha, yes! And boy, do I have a fun one for you!]" she replied.

"[Oh, goody...]"

"[Welp, time's-a wastin'! Right, first we'll need to find some honey and lots of bug-types.]"

Piplup gasped excitedly. "[Ooh, I believe there were a group of heracross in the woods nearby! And Brock has _plenty_ of honey! Even though he has no super potions.]"

Ambipom rubbed her paws together. "[Ohh, we're gonna have fun~]"

Pikachu sighed. And to think... this could've been even _worse._

"[Hey, Pikachu, catch!]" someone with a deep voice said out of nowhere.

Surprised, Pikachu turned to face the voice. He saw something flying towards him.

Yelping, he reached up and grabbed it mere inches away from his face. Looking up at whoever had thrown it, he saw Buizel with his arms crossed. "[Hopefully that'll taste better than whatever crap they were feeding you earlier,]" he said.

Looking down at it, Pikachu saw that it was another berry. Pink and yellow this time, which was a vaguely reassuring sign that it wasn't awful, at least.

"[Oh, a qualot berry, eh?]" Ambipom said.

Pausing briefly, Piplup rubbed his chin. "[I do not know about you, my friend, but it sounds quite bitter to me. Perhaps you shouldn't eat it...!]"

"[Pfft, bullshit. I just ate one earlier,]" Buizel retorted.

"[Perhaps you were mistaken, Buizel! There are many pink berries in the world!]"

"[Yes, and I'm tempted to beat you over the head with one of 'em, you damn troublemaker.]"

Piplup huffed, flippers to his hips. "[I'd like to see you try, my rival!]"

Buizel huffed back at him, arms still crossed.

Shaking his head exasperatedly, Pikachu shrugged and popped the berry into his mouth. A wondrous mix of sour, spicy, and - most importantly - sweet flavors washed through his mouth, eliminating the horrible tastes from before immediately.

While he enjoyed the lovely treat, Ambipom hummed in curiosity. "[Wait, weren't you watching the battle?]" she asked Buizel.

"[It's over. Grotle won by using Mamoswine's Ancient Power against him… while he was distracted with pulling off some contest stunt.]"

"[Aww, drat. Guess that's two to one, then.]"

"[Right. I think they're gonna have another fight to even the score... but Dawn doesn't have anyone to fight Chimchar with, so they're taking a break to think things through, for now.]"

Piplup's shoulders sagged. "[It only reminds me of how I wish Dawn would hurry up and find her sixth pokémon, soon. Great as I am, I cannot carry an incomplete team,]" he said.

"[Say... on that note...]" Ambipom started, looking at Buizel.

The weasel uncrossed his arms and huffed. "[No, I'm done with contests, so I'm staying with Ash,]" he said stubbornly.

Dawn's two pokémon groaned in disappointment. Pikachu huffed smugly at them.

Swallowing his berry with a loud sigh of content, Pikachu beamed up at the weasel. "[Hey, thanks for the food, Buizel!]" he said. He shot a quick glare at Piplup and Ambipom. "[Glad _someone's_ got my back, at least.]"

They giggled sheepishly. From the looks on their faces, though, he could tell that they didn't regret it. Those hooligans...

"[Heard you guys talking during the fight,]" Buizel started, "[and, Pikachu... you've really got to work on that naivety of yours. If these guys can make you eat your least favorite food several times in a frigging row... then I'm dreading the day someone comes along who _really_ wants to scam you something fierce.]"

Pikachu rubbed his head in embarrassment. "[Y-Yeah, yeah, I know... To, um, be fair, though... they put up one heck of a good argument.]"

Buizel groaned. "[For frick's sake... you're hopeless, man.]"

Pikachu's face warmed. He wished he could deny it, but...

"[Aw, lay off him, man,]" Ambipom chided with a paw to her hip. "[Who's gonna take advantage of him, anyway?]"

Buizel clicked his tongue. "[With that sort of thinking, he _is_ going to get himself into Hell at some point. Like that time you apparently got fooled into giving yourself to Team Rocket, just to free someone else.]"

"[Oh, I believe that 'someone' was Buneary,]" Piplup replied. "[A stranger at the time, I'd like to add.]"

Buizel looked exasperated. "[... To free a freaking stranger, at that.]"

"[H-Hey, that wasn't me being naive!]" Pikachu argued. "[I owed her one for saving me from being run over to death. I mean, I probably would've been fine, and she only did it 'cos she thinks I'm hot, but...]"

"[You still trusted them to hold up their end of the bargain, when you knew they wouldn't.]"

Suddenly feeling defensive, Pikachu frowned. "[Well, what was I _supposed_ to do? I couldn't just leave her!]"

The weasel huffed. "[Could've just gone for help.]"

"[She _froze_ the help!]"

Buizel blinked. "[... What, really?]"

Caught off-guard by the reaction, Pikachu also blinked. "[Um... yeah. Ash and Dawn were about to try catching her again. So she froze everyone to flirt with me some more. Something like that, anyway.]"

"[... Huh.]" Buizel huffed in amusement. "[Sounds like her, I guess.]"

"[Um... heh, yeah. For sure,]" Pikachu replied, chuckling lightly.

"[Ambipom, my girl, are you okay there?]" Piplup asked, looking at the monkey in concern.

Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu and Buizel both glanced at Ambipom. She had her face scrunched up, as if in concentration. Eventually, she clicked the fingers on one of her tails' hands. "[No- I mean, yeah, thanks. But no. I have a better idea for a bet!]"

Pikachu's ears dipped slightly. A bet that excited her even _more!?_ "[Oh... goody, goody...]" he mumbled.

"[What could be a better suggestion than the honey bug dare?]" Piplup asked, head tilted.

"[... The what?]" Buizel muttered, looking weirded out.

"[Don't ask...]" Pikachu muttered back.

"[Well... speaking of Buneary...]" Ambipom replied to Piplup, looking at the still-unconscious bunny in question. "[I've actually been curious about something for a while... and now's the perfect time for some answers.]"

Pikachu cocked his head. "[Huh? Answers?]"

She turned to face him and nodded. "[Yup! Here's the deal. You have to answer _all_ of our questions about Buneary, no matter what they are. And to keep it fair, it's one per customer, and only everyone in this little group, at that.]"

Pikachu blinked. "[Oh... okay then...?]" He scratched the side of his head. "[I, er... can't decide if that's better or worse. What kinds of questions d'you mean?]"

"[Anything and everything!]"

"[Oooh, is that so...?]" Piplup asked, rubbing his flippers together in an almost evil manner.

"[Uh oh...]" Pikachu said, suddenly feeling very worried.

Smirking, Ambipom nodded at Buizel. "[You start, man.]"

The weasel looked caught off-guard. "[Huh? Oh, um... Any question, right? Er...]" He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "[... Pfft, I dunno. Do you... find her attractive, or whatever?]"

"[Ooh, nice start!]" the monkey said. "[Okay, you heard him, Pikachu! Be truthful! And no boring answers, either.]"

Pikachu stalled for a while, his face growing increasingly warm. "[O-Oh, well... I mean, yeah, I guess... She's, uh...]" He rubbed the back of his head, "[... kinda cute. When she wants to be.]"

"[Cute, huh?]" Buizel said, looking somewhat amused.

"[Y-Yeah!]"

"[Why? What's cute?]"

Pikachu's face went warmer. "[Well, y'know, er... I like her fluff. And her fur. They look good together, and she keeps it all looking clean and shiny and... what have ya. A-And she has a very pretty face, with her nose, and brows, and... her... fluff. Did I say fluff?]"

Piplup chuckled. "[You sure did, my friend! You must be a big fan! Of the back of it, especially, I'll bet!]"

"[Y-Yeah. She has a nice tail, and her fluff's-]" he started. He paused when he heard Piplup giggling loudly. Realizing what the penguin had meant, his face went far hotter. "[... Oh, I get it.]" He heaved a sigh. "[Yeah, she... has a nice butt, sure. What little we can see of it, anyway. If I, um… ever saw It uncovered, I think I'd faint.]"

Piplup giggled even harder. "[Very good to hear!]"

"[So, you think she's a hot one, do ya?]" Ambipom added, grinning.

"[... Yes,]" Pikachu replied with a slight pout. "[... I-I like cute, strong girls. Sue me.]"

Piplup and Ambipom chuckled at him, while Buizel smirked ever so slightly.

"[Right, fair enough.]" the weasel said. "[I'm good with that.]"

Pikachu exhaled slowly. "[Okay, cool...]" And to think, that was only question number one.

Buizel shrugged. "[I mean, I don't really see the appeal, myself, but whatever works for you.]"

Pikachu looked at him funny. "[Huh? You don't?]"

The weasel nodded. "[Hm. She's pretty… average looking, if you ask me. Even after she pretties herself up in the morning, which I _know_ she does.]"

Pikachu gave him an even weirder look. "[Average? Her? Really?]"

"[A solid seven to six. No offense to her.]"

"[… _Really?_ ]"

"[I guess I see what he means,]" Ambipom says. "[She's not really all that dainty. Bit of a tomboy like me, actually.]"

"[Not to mention, all of the rather suggestive passes she makes at you every day,]" Piplup added. "[Brings down the cute factor ever so slightly.]"

Pikachu shook his head exasperatedly. All he was hearing right now was bullshit. As much as she flustered him every day, he thought Buneary was the nicest looking girl he knew.

Piplup's gaze shifted from side to side, and his face reddened lightly. "[… Though on that note… while not cute, per say… it is because of that flirting she does that I think she is rather smoking hot.]" He started smiling impishly. "[If I were in your shoes, she would probably be carrying my children right now, I will admit that much.]"

Pikachu slapped a paw to his face. Well… at least he had good taste, if nothing else.

Buizel snorted out of clear amusement, while Ambipom just huffed. "[Sounds about right, coming from _you,_ ]" she sassed.

Piplup chuckled. "[I am just saying it how it is,]" he said. His eyes lit up eagerly. "[Anyway, enough of that. Shall I take _my_ turn? Please?]" Piplup asked, looking especially eager.

"[Mmm, why don't you go last?]" Ambipom replied. "[Gotta save the best 'till last, after all. Amirite?]"

Piplup looked slightly deflated. "[Aww. Well, okay...]" He puffed his chest out. "[I shall await my turn with bated breath!]"

"[Oh, I'll bet...]" Pikachu said snarkily.

"[So, on that note... my turn~]" Ambipom chimed. "[How much do you like Buneary, anyway?]"

"[D'you mean romantically?]"

"[What do _you_ think, mousey boy?]"

He exhaled through his nose. "[Well... I don't know. I, er...]" He felt the heat in his face grow fiercer, "[... think I do.]"

"[Ohhh~?]" Ambipom and Piplup chimed, looking very interested.

"[Y-Yeah.]" He looked over at the bunny in question, who was still sleeping soundly. "[... She's always making me laugh and smile... and she certainly makes me feel special enough, with all her attention and praise and stuff.]" He bashfully looked off to the side. "[So yeah. I-I'd... be pretty stupid to say that I don't like her.]"

Ambipom and Piplup both hummed in approval, though Buizel just shrugged. "[What else is new?]" he said dryly. "[Most of the team thought you two were friends with benefits at some point. Hell, I'm still not convinced that you aren't.]"

Pikachu snorted. "[Oh, no way! I don't want to do that sort of stuff for no reason. I want that sort of stuff to mean something, and... well, y'know.]"

Ambipom nodded proudly. "[Good boy, Pikachu! Screwing around with a non-partner was a big no-no back where I came from.]"

"[Heh... Glad to know I'd fit in.]" He twiddled his fingers together. "[Um, but yeah. It's not love or anything, but... well, I kinda like Buneary, y-yeah. She's really grown on me. I mean, I'm not one hundred percent sure about things, but I'm sure enough to say that.]"

The others smiled at the news, some more cheekily than the rest.

"[Right. Neat,]" Buizel replied.

"[D-Don't tell her I said that, though,]" Pikachu quickly added. "[I'll never hear the end of it...]"

Piplup gave him a reassuring look. "[For you, my friend, I think I speak for everyone when I say that our lips are sealed! … And my beak, too.]"

Ambipom nodded. "[As much as she'd love to hear it, yeah. It's a secret, man! But don't keep it to yourself forever. You two get along great, so I'd hate to see you both lose your chances.]"

"[I'll... try not to,]" Pikachu replied.

She grinned. "[Anyway, time for the big moment! Piplup, if you please!]"

The penguin hopped on the balls of his feet excitedly. "[Ooh, with pleasure!]" He cleared his throat. "[Okay then...]"

"[Here we go...]" Pikachu mumbled, knowing very well what sort of question was coming his way.

"[What kinds of dirty dreams have you had of our favorite lagomorph?]"

Pikachu blinked a few times before smirking triumphantly. "[ _Aha!_ Nice try, pal... but I don't think I've ever had any. Most of my dreams are pretty safe. When they're not busy freaking me out, anyway, like the one I had this morning.]"

Piplup's face fell. "[What!? Oh, come on…!]" He huffed and crossed his arms. "[That was _such_ an anti-climax…]"

"[Yeah, I agree, that was garbage,]" Ambipom added, looking unimpressed. "[Do over. Ask another one!]"

Brightening immediately, he did a flipper pump. "[ _Yes!_ Oh, many thanks, Ambipom!]"

Pikachu groaned. "[What? How's _that_ fair?]"

"['Cos deal with it, that's why,]" Ambipom retorted, sticking her tongue out.

Pikachu rolled his eyes. So much for that, then…

Piplup tapped his foot, as if deep in thought. Eventually, he clapped his flippers together. "[Okay, a better one! Tell us all of the daydreams you've had while you've - if you'll excuse my crudeness - … had a jerking session to Buneary.]"

Pikachu felt his blood go cold. "[ _W-What!?_ ]"

"[Ohh, man. _Now_ we're getting results!]" Ambipom said, cringing up a storm while grinning.

Buizel huffed in disgust. "[Ugh, what's wrong with you, Piplup? Why do you want to know _that_ of all things?]"

"[Utter embarrassment is worth its weight in gold, my dear rival!]" Piplup responded.

Buizel frowned bewilderedly. "[Th-That's… Ugh, still!]"

Pikachu swallowed hard. Oh, for frick's sake. He almost wished they'd gone ahead with the honey dare. "[W-Well… that's… well… yeah, um… eheh…]" he stammered, his face reaching levels of heat he didn't know were possible. Good lord, what would he even say!?

"[If you're struggling, I guess a good thing to start with would be… have you?]" Piplup asked, smirking.

"[… I, er…]" Pikachu stared at the ground. "[Yeah. Um. A-A few times, I guess…]"

Piplup sniggered. "[As if there was ever any doubt, friend!]"

Ambipom also sniggered. "[Oh, dear… well, any daydream stories you wanna share? He did ask for some, after all!]"

Pikachu exhaled heavily, looking in any direction that wasn't theirs. "[W-Well… I, er… I once… daydreamed that we were… battling while her… um, the fur covering her chest was… uncovered. I… think it ended in a muddy wrestling match, too…]"

The two troublemakers giggled heavily while Buizel just clicked his tongue.

"[Oh, I'll _bet_ there was wrestling involved,]" Ambipom teased.

Huffing, Pikachu took a deep breath. "[Er… there was the other one, where, um… Team Rocket captured her, but then the cage did a thing, and… she lost all her fur, and… um, started showing off. To me. Specifically. While still in the… th-the cage.]"

Piplup and Ambipom laughed even harder while Buizel looked somewhat weirded out.

"[Um… very elaborate,]" the weasel said with a raised eyebrow. "[Do you always dream up scenarios that… specific?]"

Pikachu forced out an awkward chuckle. "[Well, you know… it, er… makes the sess- Um, th-the… 'thing' more exciting when there's a story to… go with it. And stuff.]"

"[My friend, your kinkiness is unlimited!]" Piplup responded, going into more fits of laughter, along with Ambipom.

"[H-Hey… it's not _that_ bad…]" Pikachu replied, pouting and using his tail to cover his crotch. Just in case.

"[Knowing you, I'll bet that's not all, Fifty Shades Of Yellow!]" Ambipom joked. "[Keep going, this is _way_ funnier than I thought it'd be!]"

"[Ugh… fine… Um… well, there was the one where… Buneary learned to clone herself, and… th-they all had different outfits. Like her vest, a maid costume, a lacy night gown, and a nurse costume, a-and the… Um, one of Ash's hats, and-]"

* * *

"[… And we decided that, until the zombie problem calmed down, we would have to…]" Pikachu continued before swallowing hard, "[… breed. Based on Oak's pedigree chart for everyone in the lab.]"

His two friends were in fits of howling laughter at this point, much to his extreme embarrassment. Buizel, however, just looked incredibly perturbed.

"[Right, um…]" the weasel started, crossing his arms and, for some reason, his legs, "[how in Hell's name do you have over twenty different stories… which you remember all so frigging vividly?]"

Pikachu wiped the cold sweat off his face. "[… I don't have an answer for you, I-I won't lie.]"

"[Good heavens, are you, like, a 'one a day' sort of man, or something?]" Ambipom asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"[Perhaps 'two a day' is more fitting…]" Piplup replied, also wiping tears away.

"[N-No comment…]" Pikachu mumbled, covering his red hot face. "[Look, I just... like it when they have more meaning and stuff. And Buneary's really attractive, a-and...]" He groaned as the laughter carried on. Well, at least they weren't finding it creepy, if nothing else.

"[Okay, can we _please_ go to some other topic, or whatever?]" Buizel said. "[If I have to hear any more masturbation stories from Pikachu, I'm going to be sick.]"

"[D-Don't phrase it that way, c'mon...]" Pikachu mumbled sheepishly.

"[And yet you decided to hang around instead of going somewhere else,]" Ambipom retorted to Buizel.

The weasel flinched lightly. "[Ugh, w-well… I don't have anything better to do than stick here with you guys, so…]" he grumbled.

She huffed in amusement. "[Admit it. You're just as curious as we were!]"

"[Perhaps morbidly so, from the sounds of it,]" Piplup added.

Buizel just exhaled forcefully through his nose and shrugged indignantly.

"[Hah, and on that note… I think that should tide us over, Pikachu,]" Ambipom said.

"[Absolutely!]" Piplup agreed. "['Twas far better than I ever could have expected!]"

Pikachu flopped onto his front. An uncomfortable act, considering the circumstances, but he was too relieved to care. "[Oh, sweet freedom…]"

"[Guess that's it for the questions, then, huh?]" Buizel said. "[For better or worse.]"

"[Guess so,]" Ambipom said.

"[Hey, everyone,]" a voice said suddenly.

Pikachu angled his head towards him. "[Oh. H-Hey, Chimchar.]"

Everyone else greeted him, too.

"[Um, so…]" Chimchar started, scratching his head, "[… what was that about questions? Is someone getting interrogated over here?]"

"[Sort of. Our dear Pikachu lost one of Ambipom's bets,]" Piplup explained, "[so everyone here gets to ask Pikachu a question about Buneary. Any question, at that.]"

Chimchar looked perturbed. "[O-Oh dear,]" he said, giving Pikachu a sympathetic look. "[Poor you. I'll bet they asked the worst stuff.]"

Pikachu slowly exhaled. "[Y-Yeah… let's just say that I'm glad you weren't here a minute ago. I damn near had a fit of heatstroke from all the blushing,]" he said.

"[J-Jeez…]" Chimchar responded. "[I'm so glad I never take a challenge from anyone. That would end real badly.]"

"[Pfft. That's garbage,]" Buizel retorted. "[You take on fights all the time. You love challenges.]"

"[Not if there's any terms or conditions, I don't! I could sign my life away and not even know it!]"

"[No sense of adventure,]" Piplup replied, shrugging sassily.

Buizel huffed. "[What're you talking about? _You_ never take Ambipom's bets, either,]" he said.

Pikachu nodded. "[And I'm pretty sure you got the 'mark of shame' for refusing to do her dare, when you lost your sole bet with her, too,]" he added.

Piplup blinked. "[W-Well… um…]" he replied, suddenly looking very sheepish.

"[Oh yeah…]" Ambipom mumbled. "[Thanks for reminding me!]" She pointed at Piplup with both her tails' hands. "[Shame! Shame!]"

Pikachu pointed at him. "[Hehe, shame!]" he teased.

Buizel paused for a long moment before sticking a finger out at him from his crossed arms. "[… Shame,]" he said.

Chimchar looked apologetic. "[Um…]" he started, "[d-don't hold it against me, man, but…]" He also pointed. "[Shame!]"

Piplup flailed around irritably. "[Aghh, for fuck's sake! It's not my fault I didn't want to wear Ash's stupid underwear on my head all day!]" he shouted.

Ambipom sniggered. "[Sure it is! Shame!]" she teased.

The others chuckled at the penguin's misfortune while he continued to flail about.

Eventually, Ambipom gave Chimchar an inviting look. "[Hey, d'you wanna ask Pikachu a question, too?]" she asked. "[I mean, I did say 'everyone in the group', and you're here in the group now, so...]"

Pikachu's eyes widened. "[Huh!?]" he mumbled, the sense of dread he'd felt from before returning.

Chimchar sheepishly waved his hands dismissively. "[N-Naww, I... couldn't do that,]" he said.

"[Come on, bro!]" Ambipom continued, nudging him in the arm with a hand on one of her tails. "[It can be anything you like. Embarrassing or simple or whatever. As long as it's about Buneary.]"

"[And isn't about how much he wants to screw her, preferably...]" Buizel snarked.

She rolled her eyes. "[Ignore him, that's fine, too.]"

Chimchar paused, almost seeming contemplative. After a short while, he tapped his fingers together. "[Well... there was _one_ thing I've been wondering about...]"

"[Um... yeah?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Why... haven't you tried dating Buneary yet? I mean, everyone knows that she likes you... and you seem to think she's cool, too, so... Yeah, why aren't you two a thing, yet?]"

"[Hm... good point,]" Buizel said curiously. "[With all your playful back and forth with her, and all of your...]" He briefly closed his eyes, as if holding back a cringe, "[... _'fantasies_ '... it's amazing you two aren't already seeing each other.]"

Chimchar gave Buizel a weird look at the mention of the 'fantasies', but ultimately shrugged, as if dropping the issue. Thank God.

Pikachu inhaled deeply, and somewhat shakily. "[Ah, well... I, um...]" He glanced at Buneary, who was still resting peacefully. "[... I-I'm... kinda interested, but...]" He exhaled through his nose. "[Well, I've... always told myself that, if I ever got into the dating scene, I'd... go for something serious, and permanent, and... You get the picture.]"

"[Eh?]" Ambipom replied, scratching her head with a hand on one of her tails. "[And you don't think dating Buneary would be serious?]"

"[... I have no idea, that's the thing!]" he replied, shrugging exaggeratedly. "[She playfully flirts with me all the time, which is fun enough, and something I... kinda like, and stuff, but...]" He sighed. "[... Well, I dunno if she actually like-likes me, or if she's just... y'know. Being playful.]" He looked off to the side. "[... Especially since all she ever compliments me on is my looks and my skills.]" He twiddled his fingers. "[... N-Not that I'm complaining, but yeah. Eheh.]"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others giving him some very intrigued faces of varying kinds.

"[I see...]" Chimchar replied. "[That explains a lot. You're afraid of her not being very committed.]"

"[Pretty much, I guess,]" Pikachu replied, turning to face him. "[I mean, I trust her, and I know she wouldn't do anything not so ethical, but... well, I dunno if a true boyfriend's what she really wants. She says it is, but with all the playful flirting, who knows for sure?]"

Piplup gave an interested hum. "[Clearly, this is something that has been on your mind a lot, my friend...]" he said.

"[Hah, well, with her, can you blame me? I don't think anyone has ever even given me a _little_ flirt before, 'till she came along.]"

Piplup huffed in amusement. "[Provided you didn't have a girlfriend before the amnesia, anyway.]"

"[Oh lord, I hope not... I don't wanna see a fight to the death between Buneary and any exes just yet.]"

The others looked very confused.

"[Amnesia...?]" Buizel muttered, head tilted.

Ambipom scratched her head. "[You mean... like that time you tagged along with Team Rocket for the day, after a bad case of amnesia? Swellow told me all about it.]"

"[Hah, no, no,]" Pikachu replied, shaking his paws dismissively. "[Before I met Oak, and afterwards, Ash... I woke up without a clue who I was. And unlike that annoying time with Team Rocket, I still haven't gotten anything back from before then.]"

"[He told me, Pachirisu and Buneary at breakfast,]" Piplup explained. "[An entire life he can't remember.]"

The others gave the mouse a sympathetic look.

"[Jeez...]" Ambipom muttered. "[That really sucks. Sorry to hear it.]"

"[Yeah,]" Chimchar agreed. "[I'd be a nervous wreck if I didn't know anything about myself, so it can't be good for you...]"

"[Ehh, s'all good!]" Pikachu replied with a smile. "[I was pretty young anyway, I think, so I probably didn't miss much.]"

"[... Hope so,]" Buizel replied. "[And if you did... I hope it was something worth forgetting.]"

Pikachu nodded with a smile. "[Same, thanks.]" He let out a breath. "[Well, guess that does it for the Buneary questions, anyway.]" He glanced around. "[Unless... someone else is lurking about with an even more embarras-]" He noticed with a start that Buneary had completely disappeared. All that was left was the tree that still laid toppled over nearby. "[Ah! Where's Bune-!?]"

"[Buneary questions, eh~?]" her voice asked from behind him all of a sudden.

Yelping, he spun around on the spot to face the beaming rabbit in question. She looked completely healed up, and certainly _not_ unconscious. "[Oh, God, Buneary!]" he yelped.

She giggled. "[If everyone in the group gets one, then... it's...]" She winked, "[... _my_ turn!]"

Ambipom laughed. "[Uh oh, _here_ we go!]" she said, sounding very eager indeed.

Pikachu's face went warm again, though his blood felt oddly cold. 'Uh oh', indeed.

"[Er...]" Buizel started, "[how much of the questions have you been listening in on, anyway?]"

Pikachu's blood went colder still. Oh, dear lord, that was a good point. Had she been listening in on his 'confession' of sorts? Or worse, his 'fantasies'!?

Innocently putting her arms behind her back, Buneary shrugged. "[Nooo idea what'cha mean...]" she said.

"[... Uh huh,]" Buizel replied, an eyebrow raised.

Pikachu gave a small sigh of relief. Thank freaking goodness...

"[Anyway, whatever,]" Buneary continued, eagerly looking his way. "[Question time, if you please!]"

Feeling sweat start to trickle down his face, the mouse gulped. "[Er... l-l-lemmie guess... "Wanna date?", right?]" he asked.

"[Hehe, tempting~! But nah. Methinks this calls for a _big_ one!]"

The sweat pouring down his face intensified. "[... Uh oh.]"

She nuzzled up next to him. "[So, baby...]" She gave him a half-lidded look, "[how much do you wanna tap my ass, anyway?]"

Stiffening, Pikachu nearly choked. Sadly, though, he wasn't entirely surprised. "[O-Oh legends, really?]"

With a giggle and a cheeky grin, she wiggled her butt, causing the fluff to bounce about in an almost hypnotic way. "[D'you want me to repeat myself?]"

Chimchar blushed heavily with a cringe. "[Ohhh, man, that's freaking awful... Why would you ask something so _awkward?_ ]" he mumbled, sounding very embarrassed.

"[Not the worst I've heard...]" Buizel mumbled, making Piplup beam with pride.

"[Well... you heard the girl, man!]" Ambipom said, clearly very amused. "[Better answer!]"

Pikachu sighed heavily, his face growing warmer than ever. Despite everything, though, he couldn't stop the faintest of grins from growing, too. Sheepish as it was. "[Well... I... think you look... y'know, good, so... I-I, er...]" He looked elsewhere, towards the grassy ground. "[... Yeah. A lot.]"

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a blush forming on the bunny's face as she angled her unrolled ear towards him. "[Heehee, ohh~?]" she chimed.

"[A-A lot...]"

"[C'moooon, that's not very clear, is it?]" she replied, playfully nudging him in the side. "[Care to elaborate, my future mate?]"

Pikachu fidgeted sheepishly. He fidgeted even harder when he noticed that the others had begun to chuckle amongst themselves. Heck, a snort of amusement had even managed to escape Buizel, too, making things even more awkward. The only one who seemed displeased was Chimchar, who just looked kind of weirded out. Not that Pikachu entirely blamed him.

Sighing again, the mouse nodded slowly. "[F-Fine. I would _really_ l-like to... um... y-y'know.]" He squeezed his eyes shut. "[Um... bang you.]"

Piplup and Ambipom both burst into laughter, while Buizel and Chimchar cringed, one more heavily than the other. Needless to say, though, neither of their cringes could match the one forming on Pikachu's face.

Unsurprisingly, Buneary's reaction was a mix of both utter amusement and adoration. While giggling heavily, she was shuffling about, her paws to her cheeks. "[Heee~! Now that's love, right there!]" she sang.

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "[Eheh... in your dreams, maybe...]" he sassed.

She stopped shuffling about to flutter her eyelashes at him. "[Maybe later on, I should make _your_ dreams come true, eh? _Eh?_ ]" she teased.

Pikachu snorted. "[Um... we'll see about that.]"

She laughed and moved away from him. Once she was close enough to her, Ambipom rubbed her on her rolled up ear with a hand on one of her tails.

"[Good girl, you shameless bunny, you,]" the monkey chimed.

"[I aim to please~]" Buneary replied.

Piplup stopped laughing to grin jovially at her. "[Yes. And to think, Buneary, that our comment about you having dirty dreams put a blush on your face, too,]" he said.

She shrugged. "[Hey, I don't mind the silly comments, but not in front of the kids, ya dingus. I don't want their innocence ruined because of me being me.]"

"[Well, good luck with that, my promiscuous partner,]" he responded.

She clicked her tongue with a grin. "[Says you, ya pervy penguin. Don't think I don't notice that huge frigging bulge in your feathers right now.]"

Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu glanced at him. Sure enough, the questions had somewhat affected the water-type, too. Not that he seemed to care.

"[Yes, so what? 'Tis only natural!]" he boasted, flippers to his hips while he displayed his notable bulge loud and proud.

"[ _Ewww, Pipluuuup!_ ]" Chimchar said, blushing heavily and covering his face. "[That's _so_ nasty.]"

Buizel groaned and looked away. "[Right. Good freaking lord, almost every single one of you is a pervert, I swear.]"

"[And apparently it's wearing pants on your head that's going too far...]" Ambipom mumbled snarkily, her face looking somewhat red.

Piplup's face went just as red. "[W-Well... that is _not_ natural. That is a sign that I've gone stark-raving mad,]" he argued.

Smiling impishly, Buneary pointed at him. "[Shaaame~]" she teased.

Piplup flailed around angrily. "[For Mew's frigging sake! I don't want the stupid, dumbass pants!]"

Ambipom hummed in disapproval. "[Using Lord Mew's name in vain, again? Oh, if _that_ ain't worth some double shame, I don't know what is.]" She pointed again. "[Sha-aa-aaaame~]"

Piplup melodramatically flailed even harder. "[Oh, I'll give _you_ some shame in a second! _Grrr!_ ]"

"[Heehee! Try it, boner bird!]" she taunted.

The others responded with amusement. Save for Buizel and Chimchar, anyway, who were still cringing to themselves.

"[Um, anyway...]" Pikachu said, catching everyone's attention, "[I guess that's it for mortifying me to death, then?]"

Ambipom snickered. "[Yeah, 'till next time. Good work, Pikachu!]"

He let out a breath. "[Oh, thank goodness... Freedom! At long last!]" He pouted. "[... I'd better get a good bottle of ketchup for going through this Hell. I'll still need it for the prank, but Hell if I'm not chugging some of it, too.]"

"[Hehe, oh yeah, don't worry, I won't forget,]" she replied with a wink. "[After all, a bet's a bet, bunny boy!]"

He huffed amusedly. "[A-Alright, great.]"

"[So, what're you gonna do now?]" Chimchar asked.

"[I'm gonna go and cool off before lunch. I think I need it after that assault on my poor dignity.]"

"[Right. Definitely,]" Buizel replied.

Pikachu nodded. Gasping in realization of something, he reached up to tap the paper between his ears. "[And I almost forgot... I've got tales to tell for all of ya, if you're interested. I think you'll like 'em!]"

Buneary beamed at him. "[Anything that comes out of your mouth is music to my bunny ears, so you _bet_ I'm interested!]" she said, giving him a flirty grin.

Pikachu bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "[Oh, I'll _definitely_ bet...]"

"[Please do not let us down, my friend,]" Piplup said, apparently having recovered from his little moment. "[Your tales are exciting me already!]"

"[Apparently...!]" Ambipom retorted, lightly flicking his bulge with a hand on one of her tails. He yelped and shoved the hand away, though not without an air of playfulness.

"[But yeah, for now, I've got some relaxing to do, so I'm off,]" Pikachu said, waving towards everyone as he started walking elsewhere. "[Bye, guys!]"

Everyone gave him some parting words while waving back.

"[Lemmie know if you need any help relaxing~!]" Buneary called out to him, winking as she waved.

A part of him considered taking her up on that offer... at least, for company's sake, and not for whatever she was implying. Seriously.

After some brief contemplation, however, he decided not to. Fun as it might be, he needed some _actual_ relaxation, so... "[Eheh, we'll see!]" he replied jokingly.

Eventually, he went out of sight of them, leaving the campsite after a brief stop with Ash, to let him know where he was going. However, upon reaching the outskirts of a small forest... he soon realized that he had absolutely no plans for _how_ he would relax. Maybe save for going for a stroll, or something. He wasn't tired enough for a nap or anything, so not that…

He sighed to himself. Well, anything was more relaxing than what he'd just gone through, he supposed. Legends, how embarrassing...

He wished he could have the same level of shamelessness as Buneary. That was fairly impossible, though. Nothing short of actually turning into her would allow anyone to come anywhere _close._ Well, maybe except for Piplup, anyway. Honestly, he didn't know why she didn't flirt with _him_ instead. Not that he _wanted_ her to, but still…

Remembering Buneary, he was also reminded of how he'd blatantly told them about his fantasies. Ughh, why'd they have to ask him about those? They were supposed to be private. He was incredibly lucky the bunny in question hadn't heard about them, or else she may have been creeped out for the first time ever. By someone who wasn't that phione, anyway.

The thought sent an unpleasant shiver up the mouse's spine.

He paused as he noticed how high his testosterone levels had climbed. Particularly in an awfully awkward place. It had started making him feel really uncomfortable. Damn it, that stupid dare had affected him worse than he'd realized...

He groaned to himself. Well, that was his cue to find some cold body of water to 'cool' himself off. He didn't want the rest of his day to end up being awkward.

… That said, though... he wasn't expected to return for a while... and he _was_ in the woods, with plenty of hiding places to be found, so...

... Pikachu grinned to himself. Heh… time to fire up the ol' fantasy machine again. Even if everyone knowing about it now made things vaguely awkward. But only vaguely.

After some quick searching, he slipped into an inconspicuous bush and got to work on his daydreaming. As an image of a certain rabbit covered in berry juices came to mind, he knew he was in for a very fun relaxation, indeed.

* * *

**TO BE HONTINUED!**

* * *

**Finished:** 25/10 (October)/2017 (Happy birthday to me, I guess! :D)

 **Word count:** 9,993

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Oh, I can already see all the strange looks you guys are giving me for writing this garbage. Well, in my defense, if I'm gonna make this M-rated, I may as well have fun with it, right? Honhonhon!

 **Debateable fanfic tip #4:** **(Longass sentences will kill your lungs dead!):**

Have you ever read a sentence in a fic that used hundreds of commas, but took fifty years to give you a single full stop? Well, try reading that shit _aloud_ to yourself. You'll get out of breath! D:

If you're writing sentences, and they start to look really long (especially if lots of intricate words have been used), it might be best to read 'em out loud and see how much your lungs hate you afterwards. (Heck, case in point, even the sentence I just wrote was kinda long! Practice reading _that_ one to yourself!)

How to shorten sentences, you ask? Well, it's easy enough. Instead of spamming commas a little too much, just use full stops, or ellipses (that's a dotdotdot…), or - if you're confident enough to use them properly - semicolons in places that seem good to put them in.

With that said, don't be afraid to use commas… just remember that they only count as very short pauses, for the most part. Fullstops are used for a proper break, when you want the sentence to end. Not that pesky bastard comma.

Sometimes, you may have to reword the sentence as a result of wanting to shorten it, if you decide that it's a bit too long… but trust me, it'll make the sentence look _much_ tidier! And, if you're writing an action scene, it'll make things much easier to follow, too.

Example of longness: 'Senpai took his sword, which was glowing because of the power of the super jewels surrounding it, and drove it into the heart of the mega death beast, which screamed loudly and died in response, causing Senpai to give a happy cry, which his friends eagerly copied.'

How I'd fix it: 'Senpai grabbed his sword, which glowed because of the power of the super jewels surrounding it. He drove it into the heart of the mega death beast… which screamed loudly before dying. Senpai gave a happy cry, which his friends eagerly copied.'

With that said, don't worry if you've already written some clunky lines here and there. Unless it's an extreme example, this is mostly just a bit of nitpicking. Most people won't give too much of a shit, as long as they understand what's going on. No pressure! XP

Either way, hope that helped with your writing, folks!

( **Note:** If you're reading this on FFN, chances are you might notice that this fanfic tip is on the next chapter, too. I haven't added a new one yet, so just ignore it, if you please.)

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** Nothing was **worser** than agitating a bruise.'

(Oh, God, that's some Rugrats-tier grammar, right there. XD I only pressed two keys at once, I promise!)

 **#2:** She could've just gone into **his** pokéball,

(I'll bet she wants to go into his pokéball. Probably while he's inside it, too.)

 **#3:** 'Slowly shaking his head, and then **pushing the paper between piece of paper** he'd tucked behind his ear back in place,'

(If he's not careful, he'll get a paper cut, probably.)

 **#4:** Pikachu eyed him up worriedly. "[Hey, what's wrong, **LITTLE BUDDY?** ]" he asked.

(If he _trying_ to terrify Pachirisu? O,o)

 **#5:** "[There are many pink berries in the **word!]"**

(Piplup fails at English due to hunger.)

 **#6:** Piplup grinned proudly. "[Thank you, friend. Despite my **short comings,** it would be a cold day in Hell before my contests suffer, too.]"

('Shortcomings' is one word, so… is Piplup admitting to his little 'premature problem'?)

 **#7: '** Shaking his head exasperatedly, Pikachu shrugged and **poopped** it into his mouth.'

(Ew.)

 **#8:** 'A dire bitterness coursed through his tongue, **making him spit it out** immediately. '

(He bit off his frigging tongue! D:)

 **#9:** 'Raising an eyebrow, Pikachu and Ambipom both glanced at **the monkey.** '

(Which monkey is Ambipom looking at? Is she looking in a mirror?)

 **#10:** 'His gaze **shited** from side to side.'

(So… out of his eyes? O,o Ew, again.)

 **#11:** 'Piplup's shoulder sagged.'

(But only one of them. He should go to a doctor.)

 **#12:** 'She had her faced scrunched up, as if in **concentrating.** '

(How does one end up in a concentrating? Unless he fell into one of those drinks that you need to dilute first.)

 **#13:** 'Buizel crossed his arms and tapped his **soot.** '

(Apparently, Buizel became a fire-type.)

 **#14:** 'Piplup tapped his foot, as if deep in **thinking.** '

(That should be thought. That's the second time I've made a mistake like this. Ugh. XD)

 **#15:** 'Chimchar gave Buizel a weird look at the mention of the 'fantasies', but **ultimate** shrugged'

(What does an ultimate shrug look like? Do you shrug so hard that you dislocate your shoulders, or what?)

 **#16:** "[I don't think anyone has ever even given me a little flirt before, 'till she came **alone.** ]"

(You know it's a depressing fic when Buneary is forced to jizz alone...)

 **#17:** 'He noticed with a start that Buneary had come'

(Sounds very ominous. O,o "Oh no... Buneary has come! _Run!" D:_

 **#18:** 'leaving the campsite after a brief stop with Ash, to let him know he was going.'

(Makes it sound like Pikachu's leaving forever. "Alright, goodbye, Ash!" *'Pikachu's goodbye' plays*)

 **#19:** 'don't be afraid to use **comas** …'

(That's right! If you don't like someone, make sure they don't wake up for quite some time!)

Ah well, that's all, folks! So tata for now! c:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Tales…?


	5. The Interest That Was Piqued

"[... Really? _That's_ why you don't wanna evolve?]" Buneary asked incredulously.

"[That is correct, Buneary,]" Piplup replied, looking proud of himself as always. "[If I stay as a piplup, then I shall forever remember the first time me and Dawn laid eyes on each other.]" He blinked. "[... Platonically.]"

She huffed in amusement and shrugged sassily. "[... That's pretty dumb, no offense,]" she replied.

Piplup huffed loudly. "[What? It is _not_ dumb to have a little sentimentality in your life.]"

Ambipom also gave a sassy shrug. "[I remember all my times with Ash and Dawn just fine, and _I_ evolved,]" she said.

"[... Well... I suppose it must be nice for some!]" he retorted grumpily.

"[Just sayin'! It's not like you get hit with a memory reset button, or anything. Like Pikachu apparently did.]"

Piplup huffed again. "[Either way, it is settled. Even though I have shown signs of evolving, recently… I shall _not_ give into my urges! Lest destiny requires me to.]"

She sighed. "[Suit yourself, bro.]"

Rolling her eyes, Buneary looked off to the side, towards the ongoing battle, while they relaxed. For old times' sake, Ash had let Dawn borrow Buizel, so that she could battle against Ash and Chimchar for one fight. From where Buneary was sitting, it looked pretty heated, though the monkey seemed less than pleased to be fighting against a water-type.

Buneary hummed in thought as something came to mind. "[Guess I know what you mean, though, Piplup. I don't wanna evolve, either,]" she said. "[Even if lopunny _are_ pretty sexy.]"

"[Yeah, your species gets pretty big, don't it?]" Ambipom asked.

Buneary nodded. "[Yup.]"

"[Indeed,]" Piplup replied. "[Let me guess. A size too large for a date with Pikachu?]"

She grinned and nodded again. "[Heehee, yup. Wouldn't wanna disappoint ol' hot and hunky!]" Even if being a lopunny would certainly give him things to… think about.

"[Hah! Sounds about right for you,]" Ambipom replied. "[Don't want any hotdogs down any hallways, now.]"

Buneary giggled, despite herself. "[Heck no!]"

After a brief chuckle of his own, Piplup looked intrigued. "[Hmm... though one does wonder. What stopped you from evolving _before_ meeting the apparent love of your life?]" he asked.

She paused for a while, wondering what to say. Eventually, she just shrugged. "[... Guess I just never found the right opportunity.]"

"[Huh, okay then. Do you perhaps need something specific to evolve?]"

"[Something like that, yeah. Whatever it was, though, I guess I never... hit the right requirement.]" She paused before smiling. "[But yeah, who cares? Gotta stay at the perfect mouse-snuggling size, amirite?]"

The others snickered.

"[You really never let up for a second, do ya?]" Ambipom joked, rubbing her on the head with a tail's finger.

"[Nope~]" Buneary chimed with a wink.

More snickering followed, until Piplup made a surprised yelp.

"[Oh, lord...]" he said, holding up a piece of paper. "[Pikachu forgot to bring his sketch along with him.]"

"[Huh? Sketch?]" Buneary replied, head tilted.

"[Yes, of him and his celebi friend. He must have dropped it before going away.]" He held the paper open. "[Behold for yourself.]"

Buneary blinked. "[... Huh. When was... _that_ drawn?]"

"[He never mentioned.]"

"[It's been around longer than _I've_ been on the team,]" Ambipom interjected. "[I can tell ya that much.]"

"[Oh, well... alright, then,]" Buneary replied. She took the paper as Piplup handed it over. "[A long time, then. You being Pikachu's oldest friend here, 'n' all.]"

"[Considering that celebi are well known for appearing in Johto...]" Piplup started, "[it must've been about a couple of years after he'd met Ash. I assume, anyway.]"

She nodded and studied the picture some more. Honestly, she was quite interested. It certainly _was_ Pikachu who was sleeping soundly against the celebi. That handsome face was pretty much one of a kind.

The two of them on the picture looked so at peace that Buneary was honestly slightly jealous. Not that she sensed that anything romantic was going on at all in the picture. But still, they did seem awfully at ease. Maybe even more so than the time Buneary had snuggled next to the mouse for the night.

… She continued to gaze at it, with many a thought filling her mind in a miasma of confliction, questions and uncertainty that could suffocate all but the strongest of minds.

"[Um... is everything okay, my ally?]" Piplup asked suddenly, making her jump. "[You've been staring at that picture for a while.]"

"[Yeah, you good?]" Ambipom asked, looking slightly concerned.

Shaking her head, Buneary smiled at them. "[Ah, yup! All's well.]" She pouted. "[... Maybe except for the lack of _me_ in this picture.]"

The others chuckled. She tried not to show her relief.

Ambipom smirked at her. "[Hey, maybe one day, Ash'll ask whoever drew that one to sketch up another one for ya. One with _you_ sleeping next to Pikachu.]"

"[Or perhaps sleeping _with_ Pikachu...]" Piplup mumbled, earning some giggles.

"[Either one's fine with me!]" Buneary replied with a wink.

"[Oh, I'll bet...]" Ambipom replied. "[Anyway, I guess we'd better go and give it back-]"

A flash of light from the battlefield, followed by a loud flaming whoosh, suddenly caught everyone's attention. Looking over, Buneary saw Chimchar giving a battle cry, his backside giving off a far fiercer flame than usual. Steam poured off him, maybe because of a water attack from Buizel.

"[Holy legends...]" Piplup muttered, also looking towards the battle. "[Buizel triggered Chimchar's Blaze ability! The one that always makes him go into a _feral_ state!]"

"[Uh oh...]" Ambipom mumbled. "[I don't think he can control it yet, can he?]"

"[Nope...]" Buneary replied. She noted Ash's concerned frown. "[Sure hope Ash knows what he's doing with letting _this_ go on.]"

Buizel took some cautious steps back, clearly intimidated. Before Dawn could call out an order to the weasel, Chimchar lunged forwards, teeth at the ready.

As Buizel dodged, Ambipom's eyes lit up in intrigue. "[Welp,]" she started, "[if nothing else, things look like they're gonna get interesting! Wanna get a better seat to watch it, guys?]"

"[Without a doubt, my girl!]" Piplup chimed, running closer to the action.

Buneary huffed lightly. "[Guess giving Pikachu his picture back's out of the question, then, eh?]" she asked sassily.

"[Hey, _you_ can do it if you're not up for watching some chaos,]" Ambipom replied. "[Heck, I'll bet he'll like it better if you go up to him alone.]"

Buneary hummed in thought. "[Well... guess you've got me there! Certainly beats watching Chimchar try to tear off Buizel's head.]"

Nodding, Ambipom began running towards where Piplup had sat down. "[Suit yourself!]"

Exhaling in amusement, Buneary rolled the picture up and trapped it under her ear folds. Well, whatever worked! Besides, any time with Pikachu was a good time!

Hopping over the weirdly-shaped rock on the ground, she wandered towards the general direction Pikachu had gone off in.

As she went along, she wondered if he would be pleased to see her or not. She assumed so, because he considered her a friend, if nothing else. A hot friend, too, apparently, which she couldn't complain about. She supposed…

* * *

Reaching the outskirts of a nearby forest after a minute or so, Buneary took a deep breath. The afternoon air was so fresh and filled with flowery aromas, as one would expect on a Spring day. Honestly, if she wasn't on an errand right now, she'd be tempted to just laze around and take in the nature around her. Hell, if she found Pikachu, maybe she'd do just that. If it didn't bother him too much, anyway…

Sighing lightly, she unraveled her ear. Taking hold of Pikachu's picture, she closed her eyes. The sounds of the forest soon flowed through her sensitive ears, emptying out her mind and leaving her at peace. It was the least she could do to enjoy the melodious joys of Spring.

She could hear the wind brush gently against the leaves, singing its gratitude for its tenderness in turn.

She could hear water flowing down a stream somewhere, calling out towards the ocean for which it travelled endlessly towards.

She could hear some distant bird songs floating on the air, all in perfect harmony, a chorus of tranquillity.

She could hear... heavy breathing? No, it was… more like panting. Almost like someone had run a marathon.

Focusing some more, she recognized the voice. Pikachu…? Huh, so much for relaxing, then. Had he gone for a sprint, or something?

She smiled as something came to mind. Ooh, with him being tired, she could hit two birds with one stone! She could give Pikachu his picture back, _and_ help him catch his breath. Most likely with Ice Beam, or by using Bounce and holding her wind-coated foot next to his face, or something.

Humming happily, she rolled her ear up again with the picture tucked inside and bounded into the forest.

Moving toward the direction she'd heard him in, she eventually reached an inconspicuous bush. She listened out again and heard some quiet mumbling coming from inside. Yup, he was certainly here.

She smirked impishly. Time to make a grand entrance! She took a few experimental hops on the spot before leaping upwards into the air.

With a front flip, she posed as she fell and exclaimed, "[Aha! So _this_ is where you-]"

He squealed loudly, his once closed eyes snapping open.

She stared blankly at him as she landed. He was sitting against the tree… fully exposed… with a paw in quite the compromising position. "[ … Y-You, um…]" she mumbled.

His breathing somehow grew more frantic than before as he stared at her in horror. "[B-Buneary, I- Ah, n-no, oh c-crap…!]" he started, groaning loudly as he… finished. Climatically, at that.

She continued to stare at him. Whether in disbelief or something else, she wasn't entirely sure.

Welp…

A short pause of letting his body finish its natural business ensued. When it was finished, he gave a long drawn out groan, his head lowered towards what was now probably his shame. "[… Damn it,]" he grumbled. With noticable difficulty, he tried to cover himself with his paws. "[… H-H-Hi…]"

She continued to stare some more, her face growing considerably warmer. Eventually, however, a reaction reached her. She laughed, doubling over in heavy giggles.

"[… Huh?]" he mumbled out. Glancing at him, she saw him giving her a very confused look, face incredibly red. He deflated in embarrassment when she made eye contact with him, though.

Wiping a tear away, she smirked cheekily. "[Well… I _did_ think all the panting you did was from exercising too hard… but you know what? I guess I wasn't too far off the mark, eh?]" she teased.

He groaned again, though not without the faintest air of amusement. "[… Shut up.]"

She giggled again before angling away. "[So, um… want me to leave you alone to… clean up, or something?]"

"[Yes, I-!]" He paused. He exhaled heavily. "[Oh, what's the point… I've already hit rock bottom, now, so whatever…]"

"[So… that's a 'stay', then?]" she asked curiously.

"[Yeah, yeah, sure…]" His face went redder still. "[After all, I'll bet you're not frigging complaining…]" he finished, basically mumbling his words out.

She hummed happily. "[Well… you ain't wrong! Um…]" She turned away to the side. "[I'll… give you a _little_ privacy, though. As nice a surprise as this is, I'd better not ruin it by giving you a heart attack.]"

He huffed lightly. "[Thanks…]"

Smiling, she stayed put. Notably, there were no sounds of shuffling or anything, as if he just stayed sitting in place. Briefly glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw him wearily looking himself over, almost as if deciding what to do. Eventually he, incredibly sheepishly, tore some leaves off the bush and scraped himself off with them.

Her smile growing into a smirk again, she walked over to the tree, glancing away from him. "[So, um… hope you had a good _fantasy,_ if nothing else,]" she said.

He gasped loudly. "[ _W-What!? What do you mean 'fantasy'!?_ ]" he exclaimed.

"[Ah, well, y'know… something that helps get the sparks flying, from what I hear,]" she replied, giving him a side grin.

He covered his face with his paws. Because of that, she saw that his yellow excitement had rapidly died down, laying limp against its exposed cushion. She wondered In amusement if it matched his self-esteem at this point. "[… And where'd you hear that?]" he grumbled.

She giggled again. "[Remember when I said I had no idea what you guys meant by 'hearing things'? Well… got'cha~!]"

Making another displeased noise, he sunk lower against the grass, almost laying completely down. "[… Shit.]" He sighed. "[Well… the secret's out. Screw it all…]" He uncovered his downtrodden-looking face. "[… I'll bet you think I'm the biggest creepster on the planet, now.]"

Looking away again, she huffed in amusement. She sat down against the same tree he was sitting against, thought. "[Oh, hardly.]" Her face warmed. "[To be honest, I'm flattered you think I'm hot enough to fap to. So hot, in fact, that you even went straight back to doing it right after telling everyone, too~! So daring, darling.]"

He paused, a noise of surprise escaping his throat. After a short while, he exhaled through his nose. "[… Well, I didn't wanna, but the… 'feeling' was annoying me, so…]"

"[Hee, I'll bet!]"

He paused again. Soon after, he pushed himself back up into a seated position. "[… Really, though? You don't… think it's creepy?]"

She shrugged, glancing over again. He shyly covered up, but he loosened up slightly when he seemed to notice that she was looking him in the face. "[Not really. Hey, I mean, you're not alone… _I've_ flicked the bean while lost in daydreams, too.]"

The blush on his face brightened further. "[… Oh. Um… okay…]" A small chuckle escaped his lips. "[… T-To me, I'll bet.]"

"[Naturally! Buuuut… sometimes, I like to mix it up. Unlike you, apparently.]" Her face warmed slightly. "[… Can't say I've let my imagination run _quite_ as wild as yours, either.]"

He groaned again, looking away. "[… Alright, how much of that did you hear?]"

"[Woke up at the fantasy of you saving me from the evil flying-type with one thing on its mind. Thought it was just a dream you had at first, but… heh, not quite, eh?]"

He gave a drawn-out huff. "[… Fabulous.]" He began to sigh again before stopping, his ears pricking. "[Wait, you 'mix it up'?]" he asked, looking over.

She tapped her paws together sheepishly. "[… Did I ever tell you that Buizel's the hottest member of the team?]"

His eyes widened. "[W-What? Really? Buizel?]"

Her face warmed some more. "[… Those muscles, though. And the thought of him pushing me down... The best, man~]"

He stared at her for a while. Eventually, he crossed his arms and grumbled loudly. "[… Buizel, of all bastards! And here I thought you said _I_ was the hot one,]" he responded, barely holding back a smirk.

She laughed and winked at him. "[Hey, don't get me wrong! You're a close second~]"

"[… Hmph. Well, I'll take it, I guess,]" he said, his smirk now completely evident. It fell away sheepishly. "[Really, though, you… don't think it's…?]"

She shrugged. "[Hey… there's only one criticism I've got.]"

He looked slightly concerned. "[H-Huh?]"

She pointed at his little problem, which seemed to be 'getting into the spirit of things' again. "[… You'd better not waste too much of that stuff, you hear me?]"

He blinked. "[… Huh?]"

"[Don't want the well to run dry.]" She winked. "[We'll need some to make our firstborn, won't we? Not to mention the rest of 'em.]"

He recoiled slightly in surprise. Afterwards, he laughed for a short while before groaning and shaking his head. "[Ohh… I'll fucking bet...]"

She laughed along with him for a while, until things grew quiet again. However, as she went over what she'd just said, as well as something _he'd_ said, earlier, she tentatively bit her lip. "[… Um. Eheh. Just… kidding, though, of course.]"

He tilted his head. "[Huh?]"

"[Heh. Well… j-just sayin'.]"

"[… Well… I guess I… kinda guessed you were, but... alright?]"

She let out a breath and hummed pleasantly. "[Alright, cool! Um, b-but yeah…]"

She noticed him giving her a somewhat strange look, but seemed to ultimately drop it. Thank God.

Glancing around to look for a topic change, she noticed that he hadn't made himself decent yet. Deciding upon that, she tilted her head at him. "[Say... any reason you haven't put that away, yet, Banana Pants?]" she asked. She giggled and fluttered her eyelashes at him. "[You leaving it there for me to do something with~?]"

His blush returned again. It was accompanied by a roll of the eyes, however. "[... For your information… I like to let it settle first. Um, just to make sure there's, er... nothing left over.]" He gave her a dry frown. "[… Really, though? Banana pants?]"

"[Haha, yeah! Seriously, how do you store all that away?]"

"[… With quite a bit of tucking,]" he mumbled sheepishly.

"[Looks like it, Tyrannosaurus Erex.]"

He rolled his eyes again and lightly punched her arm, grin growing. "[… Quiet, you.]"

She giggled again. After that, they both sat there in comfortable silence. Thanks to her joking about, he seemed a lot more at ease, despite being totally bare.

While they sat next to each other, Buneary let her mind wander. She thought about how surreal this whole ordeal was. Most girls would only ever experience this sort of situation in their dreams... and yet, here she was, seeing it for herself in the flesh.

She was near her crush, his body bare and his mind filled with thoughts of her. His own dignity protected only by her lips being sealed, no covering able to hide it away otherwise. He was... um...

... Oh dear. The more she thought about the naked mouse next to her, the more she noticed her body reacting to the whole thing.

Her breathing grew shallow... her face grew warm... her heart grew in beats per second... and, undoubtedly, her folds grew in moisture. Fuuucking Hell, this was hot.

She hadn't noticed before, because she'd been so focused on teasing him, and laughing at the strangeness of the situation. But phew, if Pikachu weren't here, she was sure she'd be taking a page from his book, right now. Though with that said, she was sure he wouldn't complain about that in a million years...

Upon noticing small bumps adorned against the fur covering her chest, a clear showing of her arousal, she decided that she had to shift the cogs in her head as quickly as possible.

She ruffled the fur on her chest to hide herself, took a deep breath and turned her attention to the nature surrounding her.

The world around her was awash with the spectrum of the forest. The green of the foliage... the brown of the bark... the rainbow of the flora... It was a sight that brought joy to her vision.

Although hidden by the canvas of leaves above, she could still sense the sun's presence. Its rays were weak against her fur, but what it did warm - the air - was all too happy to massage her fur with its tender touch, soothing her very soul.

Closing her eyes, she once again took in nature's chorus. The wind through the rustling leaves... the songs of the flying-types... even the familiar, comforting breathing of the mouse next to her… It all came together in a melody of relaxation.

"[Huh… you alright?]" Pikachu asked after a short while, breaking her poetic trance.

"[Yeah… I'm just relaxing,]" she replied. "[It's so peaceful out here.]"

"[Ah, okay then,]" he responded. "[Yeah… guess so.]" He paused for a little bit. "[… Honestly, before I… y'know… I _was_ actually gonna relax properly. Um, h-honest.]"

"[Heh, yeah, I believe you. I do that sometimes, too. Relaxing.]"

"[Oh, cool, you do?]"

"[Yeah! I just like to lie back, close my eyes, and… take in everything.]" She smiled lightly. "[… It was something I did often, back before joining you guys. Just me alone with the outdoors.]"

"[Huh… neat. I'll bet you're an expert relaxer, then, huh?]"

Her smile grew. "[You bet. Warmth against my fur… listening to the sounds of nature… smelling all the fresh smells… It's like living in some kind of dream, y'know? Clearing my mind by engrossing myself in the blissful medley of a Summer's retreating morning, ready to greet the coming afternoon…]"

She got nothing but silence in response. When she ran what she'd said through her mind again, her eyes involuntarily sprang open. Oh crap, she'd gotten carried away!

"[U-Um…]" she started, looking at him. She averted her gaze slightly when she caught sight of his weird look. She also tried not to spy on his pride and joy, even with its head held high once more, "[… just saying.]"

"[Er… no kidding,]" he mumbled. Eventually, he smiled in amusement. "[… Heh, um, gosh. You can be really poetic, you know that?]"

She felt her face go red-hot, but she tried to play it cool. "[H-Hee, well, yeah, y'know… er… being friends with Piplup has its perks~]"

"[You say that when I can't even _remember_ half the words that fancy bastard uses…]" he replied with a light chuckle.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, she looked away again and went back to closing her eyes. "[Maybe I'm just naturally gifted, then!]"

He hummed happily. "[Maybe. Maybe.]" After a short while, he began to shuffle about. Most likely cleaning up properly, finally. "[Oh hey, y'know… I never praised you for the battle.]"

"[The battle? What did I do?]" She grinned. "[Did I impress ya out there?]"

"[Heh, you sure did! 'Specially near the end.]"

Eyes still closed, she raised an eyebrow. "[Eh? What did I do?]"

"[Well, it lost me the bet that got me to talk about you in the first place, but… I think what you did for lil' Pachirisu was really cool. Diving in the way of that attack meant for him…]"

Hearing that made something warm stir inside her heart. "[Oh, well… y'know, it was nothing, really.]"

"[No way, it was really selfless! Why'd you do that, though?]"

"[… Well… I like to keep my friends safe, y'know? Especially that little tyke.]" She smiled warmly. "[He's like a little kid brother to me, so I just want what's best for him.]"

"[D'aww…]" Pikachu replied, actually sounding touched. "[Well… he really looks up to you, and it's pretty obvious why. You're the best role model.]"

She giggled lightly, her face flushing something fierce. Wow… that was such an earnest compliment. "[Oh, um… g-gosh, thanks…]" she replied, pulling her fluff up to her face. She almost opened her eyes, too, but she refrained.

"[Man, you always get so bashful whenever I compliment you, huh?]" he said in amusement.

"[Well… girls like praise, what can I say? Heehee~]"

"[So I see,]" he chimed. He shuffled around even more. After a short while, he huffed in satisfaction. "[Okay, I'm, er… 'decent', I guess.]"

Opening her eyes and letting go of her fluff, she saw him sitting against the tree and facing her with a smile. Notably, his personal treasures were gone from sight, replaced with the smoothed-out patch of fur that hid everything. It was almost as if nothing had ever been there at all.

"[… Seriously, how do you manage that?]" she responded, honestly still impressed.

He smiled sheepishly. "[Well… I'm just lucky that pokémon fur can magically do that, I guess. I'd be a bit boned without it.]"

"[No kidding!]" She paused. "[… Makes me wonder how the fur-less pokémon manage it.]"

He blinked. "[… Hey, good point. In fact… Ambipom doesn't have anything down there, does she?]"

She gasped. "[Hey, no, she doesn't! No fur, scales or feathers… no nothing! What the heck?]" She batted her paw into her other one. "[Hey, and didn't you make her uncover her buttcheeks for a dare that one time?]"

"[Yeah… I didn't think about it at the time, but… it's weird, ain't it?]" He shrugged. "[Well… guess it'll be a mystery for the ages, huh?]"

She shook her head. "[No, screw that. I'm gonna ask her later tonight.]"

He chuckled while getting up to his feet. "[Well… you're an expert at making awkward things less awkward, so go for it.]"

She grinned. "['Tis an acquired skill!]"

"[Heh, no kidding…]" He pointed at Buneary's waist. "[Either way, I'll bet you feel real lucky with that thing around ya, huh? Even if it _does_ make it harder to do 'certain things']"

She looked down at her fluff and then back at him, smirking. "[Well… you ain't wrong about that first part. Sure stops the onlookers.]"

She hopped up to her feet and faced away from him, posing sexily with an arched back. "[Bet that don't stop ya from peeking, though, eh~?]" she said, winking back at him.

He spluttered flusteredly. "[W-Well, you, um…]" He paused briefly. "[… The tail doesn't leave _too_ much to the… imagination, really.]"

Giggling, she wiggled her rump, earning an embarrassed gulp from him. "[I'll _bet_ it doesn't, handsome~]"

"[Eheh...]"

She stood up straight and faced him, again. "[Just to set things straight, though... I _can_ actually part my fluff a surprising amount.]"

"[... Huh? How do ya mean?]"

"[Well, most of my fluff's sitting on top of the fur that keeps me decent. 'Cos of that, I have no 'troubles' with 'certain things' whatsoever~]"

He gave her a surprised look. "[No kidding? How far can it go?]" he asked, sounding legitimately curious.

She grinned impishly. "[Ooh, well...!]" She reached inside of her fluff. She fiddled with it until she could feel it start to unravel a little bit.

Looking up, she could see Pikachu's eyes going wider than dinner plates. Clearly, he knew _exactly_ what she was doing.

Giggling at the reaction, she started to part it. The fluff on her thighs stayed in place, but the part right in the middle began to split without any problems.

She let the split slip down lower and lower, until she was just one tiny little tug away from giving him something _new_ to fantasize about.

Breathing growing audible, his gaze drifted down her body, following her paws. Curious. Excited.

While giving him a half-lidded gaze, she placed her paws on the last remaining piece of obstructing fluff, took a deep breath… and pulled her fluff all the way back up while humming out the noise of a buzzer. "[ _Access denied!_ ]" she said, imitating a robot. She winked. "[ _View_ r _estricted to boyfriends and above!_ ]"

"[Oh, _come on!_ ]" Pikachu exclaimed, sounding frustrated. She shot him a smirk, which made him blink a few times before flusteredly shaking his paws. "[Er… I mean… ]"

"[A _ha!_ Caught'cha~]" she teased, giggling. "[I _knew_ you secretly wanted a peep show!]"

"[No, I-I…]" He paused again. He huffed and crossed his arms. She couldn't help but notice how red his face had gotten, and how his featureless groin had a slight bulge showing again. "[Well, whatever, at least I'm not a cock tease, like you.]"

She went about putting her fluff back in place. "[Hey, what did you expect? I'm happy to tease you all night and day, but even _I_ have standards, believe it or not.]"

He let out a breath and nodded. "[Well… yeah, fair enough.]" He huffed again with a small grin. "[I mean, you're still a filthy, no-good tease… but yeah, no need to do stuff you don't want.]"

"[Teehee, thanks!]" she replied, pleased at his answer. Well… actually, she was quite touched, but she didn't want to spoil the mood.

She murmured in thought to herself for a second. After enough consideration, she giggled lightly and placed her paws on her chest. With some fast unravelling, she pulled the layer covering her apart for just the briefest of seconds, allowing him a nice glimpse of something that made his face go as red as his cheeks.

She felt her face go warm, too. "[… Consider it a little something as thanks for showing me _your_ little secret~]" she said, cheekily sticking her tongue out with a wink.

He only stared for the longest time, as if not believing what had just happened. After a short while, he coughed and started to fidget flusterdly. "[A-A-A-Anyway, haha, yeah! We should… um… g-g-go back to the others, or something, ya… ya imp,]" he stammered, getting to his feet.

She beamed. "[Good idea.]"

He sheepishly smiled back before walking on ahead quickly. His steps seemed awkward as he moved along.

Amused, she followed closely behind him.

* * *

A short while passed before Buneary managed to catch up with him. He seemed to have found a rhythm that made walking less awkward for him, because he wasn't waddling as much. There was also the chance that his new little problem had died down already, but, after that song and dance, she was almost certain that wasn't the case.

As she walked to his side, she noticed his eyes go wide as he looked at her rolled up ear.

"[Hey… is that my picture?]" he asked, stopping to point at her ear.

She yelped lightly. "[Oh, right!]" She took it from her folded ear and handed it over. "[Special delivery~]"

With an amused huff, he took it from her. "[Thanks. Man, I'm bad at keeping hold of this…]"

"[Apparently!]" She tilted her head. "[So… what's it about, anyway? She a friend of yours?]"

He tucked it under his arm. "[You could say that. I didn't know her for very long, but she was very fun. We were talking all night, so I guess we fell asleep at some point.]"

"[Huh... okay.]" She exhaled lightly. "[... You sure both looked like you were at ease.]"

"[Yeah... I guess so.]" He scratched his neck. "[It was strange, really. Even though a weird dream woke me up after this, I don't remember sleeping so well, since.]"

Her ear drooped. "[Heh... moreso than when you slept against me, I'll bet.]"

He blinked a few times. "[... Er... well, I was... _kind of_ at ease, that time.]"

She cocked her head curiously. "[Wait... really? But you seemed so on edge at first...]"

A blush formed on his face. "[... Well, let's... just say that I'm not used to having girls wrapped around me at night.]"

She blinked. After some thought, she made an 'o' shape with her mouth. "[Riiight, I should've known.]" She smirked. "[You were packing an _epic_ hard-on all night, weren't you?]"

His blush grew bigger. "[… A-Alright, you caught me. I, um… yeah. I enjoyed myself.]"

She gave a pleased hum. "[Well, glad you got _something_ out of it.]" She winked. "[Next time you want even more sweet dreams, maybe we should have another sleepover sometime, eh?]"

He grinned sheepishly. "[Heh, w-we'll see.]" He gestured towards the direction of camp. "[Anyway, shall we keep going? I get the feeling food'll be ready by the time we get back, and I'm real excited to talk about the picture to everyone.]"

She beamed at him. "[Sure. Lead the way!]"

He smiled back. "[Alright!]"

They both began to walk back to camp once more. Soon after, she sidled closer to him and held his paw.

He acted surprised at first, though, with an exasperated sigh, he went back to smiling, paw in paw with hers.

She didn't fully know what to take from the reaction… but he seemed happy enough, so she was content.

To break the silence as they closed in on their destination, Buneary decided to chat. "[Say, Ash and Dawn were battling before I left.]"

"[Huh? Who with?]" he asked.

"[Ash has Chimchar and Dawn borrowed Buizel.]"

"[Oh, neat! How'd that go?]"

"[Hm… last I saw, Chimchar was beaten up enough to go full on Blaze.]"

His face fell in worry. "[Uh oh… that still makes him go off the deep end, doesn't it?]"

"[Mmhm. He lunged towards Buizel like a man possessed. Thankfully, I left before things got messy, though.]"

"[Yeah... I like a good, brutal battle as much as the next guy, but that's... a bit much. It's no good when it goes from 'having fun' to _primal rage_.]"

"[Totally. Then it's just scary...]" she replied, nuzzling into his arm.

He stalled for a second before nodding. "[... Guess so.]"

They continued onwards quietly for a short while. Noting that he wasn't pulling away awkwardly like the last time she'd gotten close, she sighed in content.

After a short time, she looked up at him. "[Hey.]"

He looked back. "[Y-Yeah?]"

She gave him a cutesy look. "[If Chimchar went feral and came after me… would you be my big knight in shining armor and come save me?]"

He chuckled. "[You kidding? I mean, I'd want to… but by the time I'd gotten close, you'd have beaten him silly. Hell, I'd probably have to save _him!_ ]"

She giggled before clicking her tongue and frowning at him. "[Wazzat supposed to mean? You make _me_ sound like the feral!]"

He pulled an impish look. "[ _Wellll…!_ ]"

Huffing indignantly, she pouted and lightly shoved him. "[Welp, that's it, you ruined it. Crush over.]"

He laughed in response. As she held her irritated look, however, he began to look worried. "[… Um… you, er… y-you're kidding, right?]"

She continued to frown at him before cracking up in sniggers. "[Well yeah, duh.]" She beamed at him. "[This crush is uncrushable, don't you worry~]"

Exhaling slowly, he pouted himself. "[… Lucky me,]" he replied in an amused tone.

Smile growing, she gripped onto his arm again as he led her back to camp. As their conversation continued, the smile refused to leave her face.

* * *

"Oh, _there_ you guys are!" Ash called out, waving out towards Pikachu and Buneary.

They both happily waved back as they came closer to camp, still holding paws. Honestly, he used to get embarrassed with this sort of thing, especially in public… but, honestly, he didn't really mind it anymore. Not that anybody could blame him. She'd really upped the ante over the months.

"Where'd you get off to? Ya missed all the excitement!" Ash said as they got close enough. "And more importantly... food's almost ready! You should _never_ miss food."

"Now, Ash, come on!" Dawn replied. She gave Pikachu and Buneary an utterly adoring look. "Our two little lovebirds were having a _daaate~!_ "

Eyes widening, Pikachu quickly let go of Buneary's paw and shook his own defensively. Actually, never mind, he changed his mind. When Dawn was like this, all bets were off the table. "[Er, that's not quite…]" he started. He glanced off to the side briefly to look at Buneary. She just simply sighed and shrug in what he guessed was amusement. Clearly, she didn't really mind her trainer's shenanigans.

"Ohhh no," Dawn chided in a bubbly manner, "you can't get it past me, Pikachu! I know love when I see it!"

Ash scratched the back of his cap. "C'mon, Dawn, that's a bit much, ain't it?"

Brock suddenly appeared from behind Dawn. "It's never a bit too much when it comes to love, Ash," he said, sagely.

"I know, right?" Dawn responded in glee.

He nodded in agreement before looking directly at Pikachu and Buneary. "And on that note... "

"... Umm... uh oh," Ash mumbled.

"[... Very uh oh,]" Pikachu added.

Brock kneeled down and grabbed both of Buneary's paws, surprising her. He had a very starry look in his squinted eyes. " _Bunearyyy!_ You have to tell me how the date went with _Pikachuuuu!_ " he exclaimed sappily.

Dawn kneeled down and gripped Pikachu's paws, making him yelp. "Pikachu, you tell me how it went, too, won't'cha?" she asked excitedly.

"[U-Umm...]" Pikachu muttered, feeling his face going warm. Somehow, he didn't really want to tell them the story that immediately came to mind.

"C'mon, guys, you're freaking Pikachu out," Ash said awkwardly.

The mouse chuckled sheepishly. "[Yeah. J-Just a bit...]"

"But _Ash...!_ " Brock cried. "This thing is serious! We have to know as much as possible."

Ash crossed his arms. "Ain't that what you said when that phione was here last week, too?"

Brock and Dawn blinked.

Pikachu just let a breath out through his nose. Glancing to the side, he saw Buneary exasperatedly rolling her eyes. Oh, as if they needed to be reminded of that jerk, Phione. Attacking the mouse and his friends just so he could flirt heavily with Buneary.

It'd made Pikachu's blood boil. Especially when the sea slug had fought for Buneary's paw in marriage. An odd thought, because pokémon didn't usually get married, but it had secretly irked the mouse all the same. As in, he had kind of wanted to punch the guy's lights out, though Buneary had gotten around to it before _he_ had.

Recovering, Brock let go of Buneary to dramatically ball a fist. "I just want to see some love, Ash! Is that such a crime!?"

"Sounds like you don't really care about Pikachu and Buneary doing the dating," Ash said with a shrug.

"Who died and made _you_ a love doctor, Ash?" Dawn replied sassily. "Of course we do! It's just... y'know... love is important from _all_ angles!"

"Besides," Brock continued, "it's taking forever for Pikachu and Buneary's love to blossom! So we have to take what we can get before it's too late!"

Buneary huffed and put her paws on her hips. "[Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean?]" she replied, annoyed.

He stalled. "Er... not that it _will_ be too late! Ever!"

She huffed again, in a drawn-out way this time.

"Yeah, well..." Ash interjected, picking Pikachu up by the waist and taking him away from Dawn. "Don't embarrass Pikachu with all that dumb love stuff!" he said, placing him onto his shoulder.

" _But Ash...!_ " Dawn and Brock both whined.

"[Alright, you guys...]" Buneary called out, catching everyone's attention. "[If you quit pestering these two, then I'll tell ya whatever you wanna know!]"

Apparently sensing her willingness to talk, both humans gleefully swarmed around her.

"Oh, you'll tell us, Buneary?" Dawn asked, starry-eyed.

Somewhat hesitantly, the rabbit nodded. "[I-I… guess…? I dunno how, but-]"

Making adoring noises, both humans managed to pick Buneary up at once and began to parade away with her, each with one hand. Much to her exasperation.

"So, Buneary, how was it?" Dawn started excitedly. "Was there hugging? Or kissing? Or…" She gasped. "Something _more!?_ "

"[Err…]" Buneary started.

Brock also gasped. "You're right, Dawn!" He suddenly looked very determined. "Quickly, get your egg checker app ready! I think there's a bun in Buneary's oven!"

She immediately began to fumble around with her watch, despite carrying Buneary. "I'm on it, Brock! Oh _dear,_ this is so _exciting!_ " she chimed, barely avoiding bumping into a small tree as she went away.

They wandered off to a different part of camp, getting different odd looks as they passed by the pokémon. Pikachu and Ash could only stare after them.

"… Sure hope Brock's keeping an eye on the food," Ash mumbled, a hand on his hip.

"[Somehow, I doubt it…]" Pikachu muttered. He yelped when his Celebi picture slipped off his head and drifted towards the floor. Man, how many times had that freaking happened today, anyway?

Briefly tilting his head, Ash slowly bent down. "Huh? What's this?" Picking it up and unraveling it to get a look, his eyes lit up. "Oh, hey, it's the picture Sammy drew! Did this blow outta my bag, or something?"

Pikachu nodded. "[Sure did!]" He gave his trainer a slightly stern look. "[You've gotta zip that thing up better.]"

Seeing his look, Ash chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right. Sorry, buddy."

Pikachu sighed lightly in an amused way. "[It's all good.]"

Smiling, Ash looked back down at the picture contemplatively. "Man, it brings me back, though. Feels like it's been _forever_ since we saw Sammy and Celebi."

Pikachu nodded again. "[No kidding. It's been, like…]" He held up a few fingers for his trainer to see. "[Three years or something, right?]"

Ash looked at the fingers and gasped lightly. "Hey, you're right! Man, time flies, huh?" He paused. "… As well as drags, I guess."

Pikachu laughed. "[Well… at least it's not as bad as it probably is for Sammy, I guess.]"

Ash chuckled. "If you're saying the same thing that I'm thinking about Sammy… yeah." He looked down at the picture again. "A whole forty-three years… I wonder how Sammy and Celebi have been holdin' up that whole time?"

"[Who knows?]" Pikachu replied with a shrug. "[Hope they've been alright, anyway...]"

"Yeah, me too, buddy. Me too…"

Ash continued to nostalgically gaze at the picture. Pikachu, instead, stared up at the sky in thought. Sammy and Celebi… he couldn't help but wonder if they remembered him and Ash. Oh, and Brock, too, come to think of it. He'd been around during that debacle as well, along with Misty, hadn't he?

Time had certainly marched on in Sammy and Celebi's… well, time. Pikachu could only guess at what sorts of things had gone on in their lives, since. Maybe they'd both become rich and famous somewhere. Maybe they'd both settled down with lovers and had kids of their own. Maybe, though hopefully not, they were both dead. Who even knew?

Eventually, with a shake of the head, Ash rolled the picture up and handed it back to Pikachu. "Ah well. C'mon, let's get going! Food ain't gonna take long!" he said. He pulled a look. "S'long as Brock hasn't forgotten it, anyway."

Pikachu tightly tucked the picture behind his ear before nodding energetically. "[Yeah, lead the way!]" he said excitedly.

With that, Ash set off towards the others with Pikachu still sitting comfortably on his shoulder. Notably, Dawn and Brock still seemed to be pestering Buneary more than what was healthy, much to her exasperation.

Pikachu rolled his eyes. Well, it was better than having them know what had _actually_ happened, with his time hanging out with Buneary.

He felt his face flush again at the reminder. Boy… what an adventure _that_ had been. He still couldn't believe it himself, to be honest. Most girls would probably scream and call a guy a pervert after witnessing him whack it in the forest, knowing that it was to thoughts of them. Yet here was Buneary, laughing and flirting with him like usual as if nothing was different to normal.

Well… to be fair, that was just like her to do that, being as extremely cheeky as she was.

Hmm, thinking about it… she hadn't always been _quite_ that bold about things, had she? Her flirting used to just be things like 'looking hot as always~' or 'you'll love me eventually!' or stuff like that. Now, though, she was always going all the way with innuendos, and advances. Not to mention, that thing that had happened just minutes ago, when she'd flashed her boobies.

He cringed. Oh, no… he'd remembered, again. If he didn't distract himself, his trademark fantasies were going to start up earlier than he'd like. The last place he wanted that to happen was on Ash's frigging shoulder! Especially since the mouse knew for a _fact_ that they were going to be more detailed than ever, now!

Goddamn Buneary… he was pretty sure he'd never even really _had_ dirty thoughts and needs until she'd entered his life. Grumble, grumble…

Swallowing hard, he decided to empty out his mind by focusing on what he'd say to his friends about the Celebi picture, once lunch time rolled around. _If_ it rolled around…

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Originally finished:** 13/12 (December)/2017

 **Word count:** 7,298

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Just so ya know, even though thar be lemons, I'm not gonna just make it your average lewd stuff. Like, I'll bet all of you are hoping for stuff like: "Ohh, Pikachu, your dong/member/pussy killer is so big, put it inside, big boy, lol" "Sure thing, Buneary." "Ouch, ow, oh god, aghhh, you shattered my hymen which hasn't broken yet, somehow!" "Should I keep going, I can stop if you want, even though we're almost certainly gonna keep going." "You're damn right you will! It should be nice now, so let's funk." *Extremely rough sex ensues, despite the pain from before* "Ohhhh yesyeysyeysyeyeyyes ahhh so tight 'n' shit etc etc let us release semen together!" "I agree wholeheartedly! FFFFFFF!"

Well, I _aiiiiin't_ havin' that shit, I can tell ya now! The entire pokémon section is already like that on FFN, so you don't need it here, too. XP

 **Debateable fanfic tip #5:** What kind of Poké dong are you?

Here's a fun topic for you… pokémon nudity! :D *cheeringchildren .mp3*

But no, seriously… you'd be surprised at how little people think about this sort of shiz. It doesn't really matter for non-lewd fics, even ones that have dirty jokes, but if you're writing something that'll have them showing off their birthday suits, you should probably try and visualise it somewhat. Even if just a little. (Though I'll bet most of you dirty bastards do that anyway in your spare time, amirite? XP)

First of all… what do you want your audience to see? Do you want them to come up with their own idea by keeping things ambiguous, or do you want your readers to have a specific image in mind?

If it's the former, then it's best not to use any specific terms. Maybe something more poetic is what you should be aiming for. As in, using ambiguous language to describe their anatomy, or only describing the act itself, and not the parts required for achieving said act.

If it's the latter, and you want people to imagine the same thing as you… how _does_ their anatomy work? Is it similar to a human's, like in this fic? Or is it like a reptile's, and hidden from view in a secret satchel? Or is it on full display, with either the whole package or just the ballsack unflatteringly showing on its own, like a regular mammal?

If it's hidden away, like in this fic, you'd expect there to be some level of embarrassment when a character shows him or herself off. Even if they're just about to get intimate. Of course there's exceptions for personality, much like Buneary in this fic, but on average, would _you_ want people to see you in the buff?

If the pokémon are just straight up naked all the time, like in any fic that talks about… ugh… 'knots', I guess you'd expect them not to give a shit about nudity. I mean, what's there to see, right? It'd be the same as seeing someone's nose, or something. Maybe you should talk about how the society reacts to this sort of thing, and whether there's any social implications to it or not.

All of this information, no matter what you do with it, is key to writing a fully fleshed out world, which I'm sure people will find sexier, or at least, more interesting, as a result.

Alternatively, you could just spam the words 'member', 'maw' and 'sheath' about eighty times, while sassy bastards like me just imagine them as generic furries. Some may even prefer it that way, so you do you, I guess. XP

 **Fun mistake of the day #1: '** She huffed in amusement and **shrugged sassily.** "[... blahblahblah,]" she replied, **shrugging sassily.** '  
(Her sassy shoulders are gonna hit the frigging sky if she shrugs any more!)

 **#2:** 'Buneary looked off to the side towards the **ongoing** battle that was **going on** '  
(I'm really going on about the ongoing battle that's really going on.)

 **#3:** 'She nearly exhaled through her nose, but she **topped** herself.'  
(This is a deleted scene... I think, but it was too amusing to ignore. XD Guess Buneary couldn't stand being blue balls'd anymore, so she did the only thing she knew how to do. Took both bottom _and_ top.)

 **#4:** "[Buizel triggered **Chumchar's** Blaze ability]"  
(How insulting. XD Guess the Piplup x Chimchar ship ain't sailing here, eh?)

 **#5:** 'compared to watching Chimchar trying to **tea** off'  
(Chimchar enjoys a strange mix of drinking a hot drink and playing golf.)

 **#6:** 'Deciding to try and clear her **heard,** '  
(Buneary's a popular gal if she has her own freaking heard. I wonder if it's a heard of other bunearys, or... Oh lord, maybe it's a heard of pikachus. A dream come true for her, I'm sure. XD)

 **#7:** '… He was sitting against the tree… fully **explosed…** '  
(Oh, shit! Sounds like he blew up! D:)

 **#8:** 'groaning loudly as he… finished. **Climatically,** at that.'  
(I'm pretty sure that word has something to do with the climate, so.. has Pikachu been playing one of those world making games, or something? Like SimEarth?)

 **#9:** "[After all, I'll bet you're not **complained** ]"  
(She wasn't complained. She is complaining _now_ , but she wasn't before.)

 **#10:** 'he sunk lower against the grass, almost laying **down completely down.** '  
(Slick dance moves, yo!)

 **#11:** 'Most girls would kill for a chance to be in this sort of situation. **ear** their crush,'  
(It turns out that bunearys show affection by earing people they like. I'm sure it weirds out everyone else.)

 **#12:** 'her **heart grew** in beats per second...'  
(Sounds like her blood flow got blocked, making her heart inflate with each pump. That can't be good. O,o)

 **#13:** "[Clearing my mind by engrossing myself in the blissful medley of a Summer's retreating morning, **read** to greet the coming afternoon…]"  
(A new way to advertise the fic. If you read it, you get to give the afternoon a nice little hello!)

 **#14:** ' **She reached inside of her**. She fiddled with it until she could feel it start to unravel a little bit.'  
(Oh deary me. I guess the hormones became a little too much for her.)

 **#15:** 'While giving him a half-lidded **look gaze** ,'  
(That's a lotta staring. Creepy. O,o Reminds me of Three Houses, where everyone has those unnerving eyes.)

 **#16:** "[Teehee, fair enough!]" **she** murmured in thought to herself for a second.  
(She murmured the sentence in thought, apparently, no thanks to the lack of capitals. Does she think it's not fair enough?)

 **#17:** 'I think there's a bun in the **open!** '  
(I guess someone forgot their lunch. Maybe Celebi could eat it, being as hungry as she is!)

 **#18:** 'They wandered off to a different camp'  
(I guess Brock and Dawn are fed up with Ash's company, so they went to go crash someone else's camp.)

 **#19:** 'It'd made his blood boil. Especially when he fought for Buneary's paw in marriage.'  
(Who? Pikachu? XD)

 **#20:** 'Pikachu sighed lightly in an amused **away.** '  
(What, is he disappearing while sighing? XP)

 **#21:** ' Time had certainly marched on in Sammy and **Celebit's** time'  
(Why Celebit? Why not Celelot?)

Right, and with that, I'm off. Toodles for now! c:

* * *

**-Bonus material that ravengal wrote for a right laff while I was in the shower-**

"[Oh, lord...]" he said, holding up a piece of paper. "[Pikachu forgot to bring his sketch along with him.]"

"[Huh? Sketch?]" Buneary replied, head tilted.

"[Yes, of him and his Celebi friend.]" He handed the paper over, opening it up as he did. "[Behold for yourself.]"

Buneary blinked. "[... Pokémon porn?]"

"[... What?!]" Piplup spun the paper around. Upon seeing what was on it, he blushed. "[Oh... this appears to be the incorrect sketch...]"

Ambipom cracked up laughing. "[You're not lookin' away, though, boner bird!]" she said.

"[Yes, well... it is a rather masterful bit of artwork. Incredibly detailed...]"

Buneary hummed in thought. "[Say, can I look at it again?]" she asked.

"[Huh?]" Ambipom asked, still grinning. "[What for? Research?]"

Buneary winked at her. "[You know it.]"

* * *

... I wonder if this counts as a fanfic of my fanfic. Welp, it's flattering, so I'mma counting it! Thanks, rg, bby. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Dreams!


	6. The Spirit That Was Very Hungry

Yawning, the pokémon sleepily drifted on the wind, looking down towards the grassy lands far below. Man, she wished she could've slept for a little longer before coming out here... but it couldn't be helped. She had important business here! She had to find something. She couldn't remember what, exactly, but she had to find it. She just _had_ to! Her butt depended on it! ... But maybe not literally. Thankfully.

There was no stress about it, though. Not with such pleasant weather! It was so sunny, and the breeze surrounding her carried a warmth that she couldn't exactly complain about. Not without sounding like a total Debbie Downer, anyway.

She flew around some more, eyes darting across the plains. Eventually, her eyes were drawn to a large dip in the Earth. Fluttering above... she saw it. Right at the foot of the dip was the thing she'd been looking for.

A special treasure, hidden amongst some ordinary ones.

A part of her was confused, though. The special treasure was a little strangely shaped, not to mention an odd color... but whatever. Treasure was treasure! Especially _this_ treasure!

She slowly drifted towards it, arms outstretched. She halted when she heard a noise from the side, though. Huh?

Looking up, she saw something that made her screech. A giant, noisy flying thing that had appeared from nowhere. It hovered somewhat closely, and it creeped her out something fierce.

Something on the flying thing's side slowly stirred. She floated upwards to get a better look. When she did, it attacked suddenly, with a bright, flashing light.

She barely dodged to the side, allowing the bright light to noisily whizz by. When it rapidly fired more attacks, she panicked and began to dart about the sky. She zipped past the many attacks that had been fired her way.

Heart racing in terror, she raced away, instinct taking over. Her blood ran cold when she realized something horrible she'd just done. No! The treasure!

No matter what, she couldn't leave it!

Breathing and swallowing heavily, she swerved downwards, making a u-turn. Coming close to the place she'd fled from, she gasped sharply when an attack barely grazed her foot. She was relieved to find that it hadn't hurt, but...

She gasped again. She couldn't move it! She couldn't move her foot! She couldn't even wiggle the tip of it!

Weighed down by her now-solid foot, she felt the corners of her eyes sting with tears. Taking a breath, she bit her lip and dived downwards, avoiding another attack. She was so terrified, she could barely think straight... but she would never leave her treasure behind.

Wings straining to the point that it stung, she swooped down like an eagle towards the large dip. It was directly below that flying thing, but she didn't care. She flew under it anyway and went straight down, towards the brightly glowing treasure. Although she still had quite a distance to go, she was filled with a strange sense of relief at the very sight of it.

Briefly glancing upwards, she saw something that made her eyes widen and every inch of her body feel cold. A different kind of attack, much larger than the ones before, was in freefall straight above her. Oh no, no, no... She would _never_ escape like this!

... She had one idea. It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but it _had_ to work!

While she dove, she gathered up as much energy as she could manage. It flowed through her, filling every vein in her body. Her instincts were _screaming_ at her to unleash that energy as soon as possible... but she forced herself to hold off on it. There was no chance in Hell she would abandon things now.

She went faster and faster before sharply skidding to a halt. She lightly hit the ground because of her added weight, but she didn't dwell on it. She just lunged forwards and wrapped her arms around the treasure. Tears leaked out of her eyes at the warmth she felt at its touch, but she couldn't dwell on that, either. It was time to go!

At once, she unleashed all the energy she had, causing the lands around her to glow with a bright rainbow of color. She grinned at the success, until an excruciating pain ripped through her, making her scream. The glowing colors surrounding her began to flash rapidly instead, going brighter and brighter, until...

* * *

Screaming, the pokémon lurched upwards. Panting heavily, she rapidly glanced around. Trees...? Greenery...? Sunlight...? Nobody attacking?

Taking a deep breath, she slowly lay her head back against the tree branch she'd been sleeping on. Oh... it'd been just a dream. Just a dream... Jeez... Alright, not 'just a dream'. That'd been freaking _scary!_ She was surprised she hadn't peed herself in her sleep.

Wiping away pools of sweat that had gathered on her forehead, she wondered about that dream. What had _that_ been about? It'd started so well, too. She'd been invited to a big lunch by all the pokémon in the forest she'd been born in... and then something, something, treasure... and then something, something, horrible things.

It hadn't felt like an ordinary nightmare, though. It'd felt... odd. So odd. Still, it beat the fever dreams she would usually get on the same day something awful was about to happen, so whatever. It was just a weird dream, so she wouldn't think about it too much.

She looked up towards the pink sky. Seeing how dim the sunlight breaking through the leaves above her was, the pokémon shrugged. Well, time to sleep again, she guessed.

Producing another pillow of leaves and laying her head down on it, she closed her eyes again. She nestled into a comfortable sleeping position, one even better than the last one, much to her delight.

As she felt her consciousness dip, she saw it again. The horrible flying thing and the hole that had opened up in the side of it, revealing something that was truly hateful.

At that exact moment, her eyes snapped open wide again. Blinking a few times, she blew a raspberry. "[Nope, screw that. Breakfast time,]" she mumbled. With that, she rolled off the tree branch and fluttered her wings to hover in place. As the leaves she'd produced scattered down around her, tickling her antennae, she began to fly away. She went off towards that bush filled with cranberries she'd found the other day.

Yawning while rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she rapidly moved through the air. Weaving in-between a few trees here and there, she soon found the bush of delicious cranberry trea-

… What. What!? Where the hell _were_ they? The entire bush was empty! What the heck!?

She found herself on the verge of tears. Who could've done this? Who was horrible enough to just eat _all_ of them!? She had half a mind to... um...

She stared blankly. Oh yeah, she'd eaten them all herself last night, just before bed. She rubbed the back of her head, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. Whoops. Maybe she should've thought that through.

She sighed. Oh well. Maybe there were some normal berries lying around. Like, a nice mint berry, or something. Those were good for waking up with, too, so whatever worked. She just hoped that nobody else wanted those cranberries. She would feel a bit guilty if she found out that she'd taken that amazing pleasure away from them. Oh well.

As she fluttered around the trees, glancing around for mint berry bushes, she wondered what she would do for the day. She had plans to go meet her friend Sammy again later on, but... well, if she did that now, she would just wake him up and tick him off. So, obviously, she had to pass the time, somehow.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of her beloved cranberries. Grumbling louder than her belly, she tried to think of something else. Like... the dream? She didn't really want to think about it again, but it was either that or something depressing. Like the loss of her cranberries.

She replayed the events of the dream in her head, making sure to leave the scary parts out. One of the things about it that interested her the most was that 'special treasure'. What would be special enough for her to backtrack towards certain death? Not even cranberries were worth that sort of hassle.

She suddenly remembered something. Oh yeah! She'd had the dream before, actually! At least, the part up until she'd found the treasure. She'd woken up just before the flying thing had attacked, thank freaking heck.

In fact... she'd had Ash's little friend, Pikachu, to thank for that, didn't she? For whatever reason, he'd woken up during the night and stirred her out of the dream. After that, they'd gone to see some butterfree and other things flying up into the starry sky.

Nostalgia hit her right in the heart as she remembered that time. Man... how long had it been? Several years, at least. Maybe even more. It was hard to tell, considering that, technically, it hadn't even happened yet. Time travel was _really_ confusing like that.

She smiled to herself. Maybe that's what she would do after breakfast. Go for a walk while daydreaming about those happy days. It would certainly get the bad taste of that crappy dream out of her mouth, if nothing else!

Spying a berry bush tucked away in the distance, the fairy sped up, licking her lips all the while. Before anything else, though... it was time to pig out! Though... maybe not as much as before. She didn't want to be known as Celebi the fatty berry stealer, after all...

... Alright, it was probably inevitable, but hey.

* * *

Slowly flying through the air, Celebi groaned while gripping her churning belly. Ughh… why, oh _why_ had that crappy bitter berry have to be hidden in that berry bush? She frigging _hated_ bitter stuff. Why couldn't it have been a nice burnt berry, instead!? Or even better, a nice _ice berry!?_

Well… that's what she got for not taking a second to look at what she'd been cramming into her mouth. Not that anybody could blame her.

… Okay, _she_ wouldn't blame herself, anyway.

While hovering along, she felt a horrible burning sensation in the back of her throat. She had to swallow hard to keep it down. Ohhhh, nope. It was destiny. She was going to barf everywhere.

She gripped her belly tighter. Ughhh, it was almost enough to convince her to just toss caution to the wind and go back in time. Sadly, though, she wouldn't dare. Her time travelling powers needed time to charge. Like… _months_ of time to charge. Without that, if she took even just a _light_ stab at time travelling, she would _really_ regret it with lots of pain. It made her dread to think what would happen if she ever tried going all out.

Not to mention, she couldn't control _where_ in time she would end up, if she did it without proper preparation. Seconds off target? _Days_ off target? _Months_ off- … Well, she was good enough to avoid it being _that_ far off, at least, but _still._

Actually… she'd done that once already, hadn't she? Screwing up a time travel attempt. It'd been soon after she'd been born. She'd woken up and looked around at everything in utter confusion, wondering what the heck had even been going on… and then she'd heard a commotion elsewhere in the woods.

When she'd investigated out of curiosity, she'd been horrified to discover a pokémon bandit. He'd been attacking some poor, defenseless pokémon with his dumb scyther and houndoom.

Naturally, when she'd tried to help, they'd beaten her into a hopeless mess… but then Sammy had run in and tried to save her, out of the kindness of his golden heart.

She didn't really know what had happened after that. She'd let time travelling instincts take over, and then her body had felt like it was going to burn to cinders. Everything after that had basically been a total blur. Until she'd been dumped into the Lake of Life to recover, anyway.

She wanted to keep daydreaming about those lovely days, while she drifted through the forest. Like she'd been planning to since before breakfast… but she was still feeling the aftereffects of that bitter berry. Ughh…

She brightened up. Wait, no, she had it! There was a technique she'd learned recently. A technique she'd figured out while trying to master her time travel skills some more. The technique she liked to call… 'flash stepping'. Just because it sounded cool.

Would she be in time, though? The technique only worked if she did it within about a minute or so of the moment she wanted to flash step to.

Oh well… only one way to find out! She closed her eyes and concentrated. She concentrated on the _exact_ feelings she'd had before eating that horrible berry. She pictured the exact same scene her eyes had been witnessing at that very moment.

She felt a warm glowing sensation overtake her.

* * *

Celebi was shoveling berries into her mouth as fast as she could. _Ohhh,_ they were _delicious~!_ She picked up another berry… and…

She blinked several times and shook her head. After regaining her bearings, she grinned. Aha, it'd worked!

She grinned even more brightly when she realized that she didn't feel sick anymore… and she couldn't taste that nasty aftertaste.

She pulled a face when she looked at the dark green berry she was currently holding close to her mouth. Ick, it was the Hell berry itself! A _bitter berry_!

She tossed it onto the ground in a huff. "[Nice try, ya jerk! _Yeah!_ ]" she cried out in triumph.

Done with that, she decided to fly away elsewhere. She was full enough now, so she didn't really feel like risking any more bitter incidents.

If she _did_ mess up again… she wouldn't be able to reverse time until she passed the point of the last time she'd done her flash step. So that was about… a minute from now, or something? Ick, yeah, that would mean another minute of potential belly ache, until she could go back again. If she tried now, it just wouldn't 'click', and nothing would happen.

… Good lord, time travel was confusing. And that was coming from someone who'd been able to do it soon after being _born,_ too. Even if she _had_ screwed it up at the time.

Oh well, she was still young, so she still had time to become a time prodigy! She'd been born with a strange amount of knowledge of lots of different things already… so she was clearly smart enough to figure things out. All in good time, though!

Speaking of the time… she looked upwards through the leaves. The sky was still dimly lit, but it was turning blue, now, at least. If she slowly flew over to where Sammy lived, she would probably get there in time for him to wake up.

She smiled while slowly flying through the woods, daydreaming to herself about the fun days she'd had with Ash and Sammy. She remembered the first time she'd taken them flying… the time when they'd all eaten cranberries together… the time when they'd seen that big swarm of evolving butterfrees against the rising sun… the time when that iron masked stupid jerk had turned her into a monster, that'd rampaged through the forest, destroying stuff for no real reason.

… Alright, no, that last memory was awful. Still, despite the near death experience she'd had afterwards, it'd all turned out okay, so whatever. All thanks to all those other celebis that had appeared out of some time portal in the sky. Younger ones… older ones… elderly ones… chubbier ones… They'd all been there to help her recover with the power of… time, or something. She didn't know. They hadn't stayed around long enough for her to get any idea of what had been going on.

Either way, it'd all been one heck of an adventure. Ever since then, she'd just been pleasantly living life in the forest.

It hadn't exactly been boring, though. After all, she visited Sammy almost every day. Hanging out with him, helping him with his research and even learning stuff like fighting and speaking. Not only in the present, but in the future, too. Whenever her time travel powers had charged up enough.

Still, a part of her wanted to explore and go on even more adventures. She'd considered joining Ash for that exact reason many times, whenever she'd been in the future, but… for some reason, something was holding her back. A feeling that she still had something to do. She couldn't tell for the life of her what that was, though. It was really annoying.

"[Oh, it's the Spirit Of The Forest!]" a pokémon said out of nowhere.

Yelping, Celebi spun around on the spot and looked down. She saw a sentret and a teddiursa looking at her in complete awe. Both of them looked like young boys.

"[Ohhh, we're not worthy!]" the teddiursa said, bowing down to Celebi.

The sentret, the one who'd spoken earlier, started to sweat. "[S-Stop, you look weird!]" he scolded.

"[She's our deity spirit! We have to show respect!]"

"[Not like _that!_ ]"

Celebi rolled her eyes. Jeez, why did everyone in this forest treat her like she was a goddess? They even did this in _Ash's_ freaking time.

Oh well, it was still kind of flattering, even if she hadn't really done anything to deserve it. She smiled and waved her hands dismissively. "[Oh no, no, I don't mind either way, kiddies!]" she reassured.

"[Ohhhh, she _spoke!_ Wow…!]" the sentret said in awe.

"[We're _really_ not worthy!]" the teddiursa said.

Celebi sighed lightly with a smile. "[Oh, you kids…]" she mumbled.

"[P-Please, our spirit! Show us some of your great magic!]" the sentret asked.

The teddiursa gasped. "[You can't just demand something of the Spirit Of The Forest! That's blasphemy!]" he cried.

The sentret frowned at him. "[I'm not _demanding,_ I'm asking politely!]"

"[We're not even worthy enough for _that_ much!]"

Celebi giggled. "[So you kiddies want a trick, eh? Well, hope you're ready, then!]" she said. She slowly spun around in midair while gathering up some of the forest's energy. While it swirled around her in a shiny green mist, she pulled a ballerina's pose. Spinning faster, she rose into the air, scattering leaves as she went.

When she was high enough, she fell back to Earth while spinning, leaving a tornado of leaves behind as she fell.

She landed on her feet and struck a graceful pose. "[Ta-da~]" she sang.

The two boys stared in awe at her unblinkingly. After a short while, the sentret started applauding while the teddiursa kneeled down and bowed repeatedly.

Face warming, she giggled bashfully and gave them a wave. "[Thanks, kiddies!]" She began to float away again. "[Um… well, I'll leave you to it! Have a fun morning~]"

"[Y-You too, our spirit!]" the sentret called back.

"[I've been blessed!]" the teddiursa said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

Celebi sighed as she moved onwards through the woods. Oh, the joys of being over-worshipped. It wasn't usually as over the top as _that_ , though, so that'd been strange. They'd been kids, though, so it was to be expected.

… Haha! Calling people 'kids'. Well, she was about three or so, by now. That's how long ago the adventure had taken place, anyway. So she was an older teen! Not that it meant much, though. She still felt as energetic and curious about the world as ever!

There was _something_ strange, though… Even back when she'd first been born, she'd been referred to as a spirit of the forest. By the very pokémon she'd tried saving from that bandit, in fact. 'Oh, thank heavens, it's the spirit of the forest!' they'd cried out, just before Celebi'd had her face smashed in by the nasty houndoom.

She'd wondered about that for a while, but thinking about it, the reason was pretty obvious. She must've been the kid of the forest spirit that had lived here before. The ' _spirit_ ual successor', one could say.

She giggled at her dumb joke before shrugging. Oh well. Whatever the reason, she guessed it didn't really matter. She'd never met her parents, and clearly, they had no desire to show up, either. Unless they were a part of the big celebi herd that had decided to save her life, anyway. A lot of those celebis _did_ look similar, after all, so maybe!

Regardless, she was happy to keep an eye on things in the forest every now and again in their name. Maybe not as much as what someone would consider responsible, but… well, she had her own life to live, too, so screw it!

Shrugging to herself, she carried on with her travels.

* * *

Spying Sammy's large treehouse - one he'd had built in the forest after their adventure with Ash - Celebi smiled. Well, here she was! The sky above was much brighter than before, too. He was _sure_ to be up and about!

The fairy pushed on a window. She squealed when she tumbled through it and crashed through some papers, before landing on the ground. Owww…!

She heard a surprised cry from Sammy, who seemed to be nearby. Looking up, she saw him fumble around on top of his bed. He fell out and crashed to the ground, covered in a blanket.

Picking herself up, she stared at the boy awkwardly. Um… whoops. Maybe he hadn't been awake after all…

Pulling the blanket off his face, he gave Celebi a dry look. "… Hi, Celebi," he muttered.

"H-Hello… S-Saammy," she stuttered. Both out of inexperience with speaking English and from slight nervousness. While she'd wanted him to be awake… she would've preferred if it hadn't been because of her goof up.

He sighed and picked himself up. "Remember what I said about trying to be a little less rash with things?" he said while brushing his messy brown hair into a more tidy style.

She felt her face warm up. "Sorr-rr-rry…!" she mumbled, putting her hands behind her back and bashfully tracing the ground with her foot. "R-R-Rash… A _biit_ r-rash…"

He smiled. "Hah, that's okay, Celebi!"

She smiled in relief. Thank the lord Sammy was such a nice boy!

She floated back into the air. When she did, she noticed the papers she'd knocked over earlier, and started feeling a little guilty. Whoops…

Oh well… it was nothing she couldn't help out with! Concentrating, she held a psychic grip on all the papers and made them all float upwards. She was about to put them on the table again, when she noticed that a lot of the sentences ended with the same letters.

Looking at them, she became very curious. She wasn't very good at reading yet… but thanks to Sammy's lessons, she'd found herself interested in stuff like this, lately.

She made one of the papers float closer to him. "S-Same! Same… w-w-words!" she said excitedly.

"Huh? Same words?" Sammy asked, picking it up. He looked it over a few times before smiling. "Oh, you mean they end the same way, right? With the same letters? Yeah, these are 'rhyming couplets'! I've been trying to get into them, ever since looking for stuff to help me teach you some English."

Celebi brightened up. Oh yeah, she knew what those were! Sammy liked to use them a whole lot in the future! "Show! Sh-Show me~"

"Huh? Oh, I dunno… I'm not very good yet…"

She gave him a cute look. "P-Pleeease~?"

He paused for a while. "Oh, well… alright, sure!" He cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "Hmm… okay! Rhyming couplets are an art… They make you… um… sound very smart?"

Celebi laughed. "NNNeed p-practi-tice…!"

Sammy blushed. "H-Hey…! Like I said, I only started recently." He smiled determinedly. "But just you wait! I'll become an _expert_ when I'm older!"

Celebi giggled and winked at him. "I'll b-beeelieve~!"

Sammy chuckled. He yawned and started towards a different part of the treehouse. "Well, until then… I'm going to go and freshen up. When I'm done, do you wanna go over a bit more English?"

She hummed happily and nodded. "Please~!"

"Okay, then! I'll be back soon!" he replied, going into another room.

Smiling, she got to work on putting his papers away again. While stacking them, she spotted Sammy's notebook.

Curious, she set the papers down and sat down next to the notebook. Flipping through it, she saw many different sketches of different pokémon. Butterfrees… teddiursas… venonats… and… her and Pikachu sleeping against each other?

… Huh, he'd actually _drawn_ that? Oh… being drawn while asleep. How embarrassing…! Still, she apparently looked pretty cute as a baby pokémon, looking carefully at it. Even if there wasn't much of a difference compared to how she looked now. So yeah, she couldn't complain. He'd totally gotten her good side, clearly!

She lay down on her front and rested her head on her arms while staring at the picture. Huh… she wondered what that mouse was up to, right now...

… Well, in the future, anyway. The guy's _parents_ probably hadn't even been born, yet, let alone _him_.

She continued to stare at the page. How had they even gotten to that point of sleeping against each other, anyway…?

Until Sammy returned, Celebi decided to try and remember as best she could…

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Finished:**

**First half -** 13/12 (December)/2017

 **Second half -** 01/05 (May)/2019

 **Word count:** 4,276

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Once again, I've had to rely on ravengal to provide me with rhyming couplet advice. Goddamnit… I'll never rhyme, no matter the time!

In other news, this chapter used to be a part of the previous chapter (the first half) and the next chapter (the second half.) Considering that nobody ever bothered to comment on it, 'cept for one person, I'm starting to think that might've been a bad idea to shove these into other chappies… XP So yeah, here we go, those sections got split off and combined into their own chapter, as you can see! Hope you enjoyed your onion pixie! :D

**Debateable fanfic tip #6:** Going for the foreshadowing!

Have you ever noticed something mysterious in a fic that stood out, yet you can't put your finger on why that is? Chances are that you might've spotted some foreshadowing!

It can come in an endless amount of forms, so here's a bunch of examples. Hopefully to give you some inspiration, or a better idea of what your favourite fics are trying to secretly tell you!

 **A:** (Weird character moments)

If a character acts oddly out of character, pauses at specific moments, seems to be carefully choosing their wording, seems hesitant to respond to something, sighs/acts awkward/bites their lip/something to that effect, or whatever else… chances are they're hiding something.

(Eg: "Yo, Jo, what do you think about the murder?" "I don't… have a single clue about it. No." "Fair enough. Say, you said you were good with an axe, right? Were you a lumberjack, once?" "… Something like that…")

 **B:** (Dreams)

If a character has a strange dream, there may be some sort of subtext that will make a whole load more sense later.

(Eg: *Character has a dream about a golden shark with a tattoo, which stalks them all throughout it.* *Later, character's distant past is revealed to have involved a blond assassin, who has a tattoo. He'd been hired to kill the character, and is back to finish the job.*)

 **C:** (Hidden information)

If a fic is keeping something ambiguous, chances are it's important for something else, later. Stuff like gender, species, name, etc.

(Eg: *Inside a pirate character's POV, they never refer to themselves as a he or she or anything. Later, they're revealed as a female pirate when everyone thought it was a man, lol*)

 **D:** (Tempting fate)

If there's a reoccurring theme, or if a character says something especially damning, chances are it's going to happen at some point. Or perhaps the opposite, depending on what it is.

(Eg: "Golly gee whiz! It sure is a lovely day not to get my life ended! In fact, one of my favourite things in life is it not getting ended! Gosh, it's almost like I'll live forever and never have my life ende-" *Falls into a black hole and dies*)

…

And those are only a few examples of foreshadowing. I'm sure there's many more, some obvious, some subtle as frick!

Still, beware of red herrings. That is, fake foreshadowing, which are things people intentionally throw into their fic that look important, but ultimately aren't. These can disguise the _real_ hints of the fic!

With all that said, happy hinting! Or happy hint seeking!

 **Fun mistake of the day #1:** ' _The glowing colors surrounding her began to flash rapidly instead, **going brighty and brighter** until...'  
_(Brighty and brighter? Sounds like a little kid's show. XD)

#2: 'Everything after that had basically been a total **blue.** '

(The dangers of watching that new Sonic movie. Detective Sonic or something, right?)

 **#3:** 'Ever since then, she'd just been pleasantly **living life** in the forest, **living life.** '

(She'd been living it pretty goddamn well, apparently. She has two lives!)

 **#4:** 'she'd been referred to as a spirit **as the** forest.'

(So… she _is_ the forest? O,o I'm sure there was a Studio Ghibli movie about this, once.)

 **#5:** 'She hummed **happily** and nodded **happily.** '

(What a giddy little kipper.)

 **#6:** "When I'm done, do you wanna go over a bit more English?" She hummed happily and nodded. **"[** Please~! **]"**

(Lol, guess not. Time to go back to Celebi-nese.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Recounts!


	7. The Tales That Were Legendary

_"[Yo, still awake, Celebi?]"_

_Celebi snapped her head in the voice's direction. After seeing who it was, she rested her head against the tree trunk she'd been sitting next to, again. "[Oh… hey, Pikachu,]" she replied. "[Yeahhh, I can't sleep a wink. Too stressed.]"_

_"[Aww, pity,]" he replied, frowning sympathetically. He sat next to her. "[What's stressing ya?]"_

_She sighed and kicked her feet against the ground. "[Where to start? I was only **just** born before that pokémon villain jerk tried to hurt me… I'm forty years ahead of where I should be… I don't have any friends or family to speak of, outside of you lovelies…]" She sighed again, though deeper this time. "[And to top it all off… I'm **still** being hunted by a pokémon villain jerk.]" She paused before pouting. "[… I'm also pretty hungry.]"_

_Pikachu listened with a look of pity. Well, until she mentioned she was hungry, anyway. That made him chuckle. "[… Y'know, you'll have bad dreams if you eat before you sleep. That's what Brock always says, anyway.]"_

_She giggled lightly. "[Well, there go my plans of sneaking those cranberries outta Ash's pocket, then…]"_

_He chuckled again. "[It's for the best, believe me.]"_

_"[Keehee, yeah…]"_

_They sat down in a comfortable silence for a little while. When he heard a sigh from her, though, he looked up at the starlit sky. "[… I know how you feel, y'know.]"_

_She tilted her head at him. "[Huh? What'cha mean?]"_

_"[All of that you're going through? It's… kind of happened to me, too.]"_

_She looked at him in shock. "[What!? Really? Right down to the being born all confused thing?]"_

_"[Yep!]"_

_"[Huh… how do you mean, exactly?]"_

_"[Well… heh, where to start, really? I'm chased by three dumb villain jerks every week… I have no friends or family that **I** know of- Y'know, ones that aren't Ash and the gang, anyway… and I was 'born' confused out of my mind, too. Out in a field with no one around but me and my thoughts.]"_

_"[… Ah…]" She paused for a while."[… Makes me look like I have it easy.]"_

_Pikachu chuckled. "[Nahh.]"_

_"[Why'd you say it like 'born' though? What was so weird about it?]"_

_"[Ah, well, you're right. It **was** a bit weird. The short end of it is that it wasn't the day I hatched from an egg, or anything. I basically just woke up one day with some horrible amnesia. Didn't know who, what, when, where or… well, 'why' I was.]"_

_She gasped in shock. "[Oh dear…]"_

_Pikachu scratched his head. "[Er, whoops… sorry, you know what that is, right? Amnesia?]"_

_"[I-I think so… you didn't have any of your memories, right?]"_

_He looked at her with wide eyes. "[Oh! Yeah, yeah, you're right!]" He huffed. "[Man, you're the smartest baby I've ever met in my life.]"_

_She giggled and winked at him. "[Legendary privileges~]"_

_"[Haha, no kidding…]"_

_She paused for a while. She traced a finger on the floor. "[Did it… feel weird? Just waking up and knowing that you should know something, but… not knowing it?]"_

_"[A bit. It was like… a chunk of me was missing.]" He smiled. "[I like to think I've filled it in with these few years I've been adventuring, though.]"_

_"[Hm, okay. Cool!]" She grinned. "[I hope our little adventure's filling you up more than anything else before!]"_

_"[Haha, well, maybe a bit… but not as much as you were filling yourself up on those berries earlier.]"_

_She huffed. "[H-Heyyy! Oh, I'm mad, now!]"_

_He gasped and waved his paws dismissively. "[S-Sorry! I-I didn't mean anything by-]"_

_She tilted her head. "[Huh? I'm kidding!]" She snickered. "[You didn't take me seriously, did ya?]"_

_He blinked. He looked off to the side, face warming. "[… Just making sure, y'know?]"_

_"[Keeheehee~! Gullible!]"_

_"[… I'm only a **little** gullible,]" he mumbled._

_She playfully flicked his foot. "[ **Very** gullible!]"_

_He huffed before chuckling along with her._

_When their amusement died down, they let the comfortable silence roll in again._

_Eventually, she let out a long breath. "[… I wonder where my parents are.]"_

_"[… Wish I knew,]" he responded._

_"[… I hope they're not missing me.]" She frowned sadly. "[I did kind of just hatch and run, after all. Then that pokémon villain was there, and… well, yeah.]"_

_He sighed sadly. "[Well… if no one was keeping an eye on you, it might be that they… weren't ready for kids, or something.]"_

_"[Heh… so you think they didn't want me and ran away?]"_

_He blinked. Oh crap, he hadn't meant for that to sound so harsh! "[Er… n-not that it's your fault, of course! Some folks are just like that, aren't they? Abandoning kids, because they're bad, and… um… eheh…]" he said, sweating._

_She giggled with a light smile. "[Yeah… they don't know what they're missing!]"_

_Realizing that he hadn't screwed up, he gave out a relieved breath. "[Yeah. Watch, it'll be the **biggest** mistake of their life, easy.]"_

_"[Got that right!]"_

_He chuckled and let the air go silent again for a while. Eventually, he thought of something to say. "[… Well, maybe your mystery folks are hanging out with my mystery folks, who knows? Heh…]"_

_She gave him a curious look. "[Huh?]" She blinked a few times before gasping. "[Oh, right… you don't know yours either, huh?]"_

_"[Heh, nope.]"_

_"[Aww… way worse than me, then. At least I didn't know mine before things went down…]"_

_"[… Ha… well… it's not like it really matters, I guess.]"_

_"[Aww, don't say that. If you were my son, I bet I would've been upset to lose… um…]" She murmured unsurely before looking away awkwardly. "[S-Sorry! I'm probably not helping at all.]"_

_He exhaled before smiling softly. "[… S'okay.]"_

_"[A-Alright…]" she replied, sounding somewhat relieved. She gave him a reassuring smile of her own. "[Either way… we'll both meet our long-gone folks again! Just you wait and see!]"_

_He pumped a fist. "[Heck yeah, we will!]"_

_She gave a gleeful hum in response. After that, the comfortable silence filled the air once more._

_The two pokémon stayed like that for lord only knew how long._

* * *

"[… Aaaaand that was it!]" Pikachu finished, placing the picture of him and Celebi down again. He leaned back for a more comfortable sitting position. "[So yeah, not as fun or interesting as the rest of the adventure. A bit sad, actually.]"

His friends, Buneary, Piplup, Ambipom, Buizel, Pachirisu, Happiny, and Chimchar - who were all sitting in front of him in a circle with their empty food bowls in front of them - all seemed satisfied with the story he'd shared with them. Specifically, the part that had led up to Pikachu sleeping against Celebi, like in the picture.

Well, almost all of them. Ambipom seemed slightly disappointed. "[And here I was, thinking there was gonna be something scandalous to take home with me,]" she said.

Pikachu chuckled. "[Not _this_ time,]" he replied. He pulled a face. "[Besides, didn't you get enough from me, earlier?]"

"[Quite! You're insatiable, woman,]" Piplup added.

Ambipom chuckled. "[Hey, the more juicy gossip, the merrier!]" she joked.

"[… While I cannot lie about agreeing with you, my point still stands.]"

Everyone who wasn't Pachirisu, Chimchar or Happiny either chuckled or cringed awkwardly. The other three looked confused… but like Hell Pikachu was gonna clue them in on the joke. And not just because two of them were kids, either…

"[Oh well…]" Chimchar said, smiling. "[The rest of the adventure was really cool!]"

"[Ya, ya! It was _very_ cool~!]" Happiny agreed, bouncing up and down while seated. "[And Celebi was _sooo_ cutie!]"

Everyone chuckled at her giddiness.

Buneary giggled along with them. "[She _was_ such a cutie,]" she agreed. She looked off to the side at nothing briefly before looking back at Pikachu, smirking. "[If she ever comes back… I'm gonna have to keep an eye on things to make sure that Pikachu doesn't get any ideas~]"

"[I'll be sure to let her know…]" Pikachu muttered, smirking back at her lightly.

Pachirisu nibbled on his own tail. "[That part with the big, creepy monster thing that Celebi turned into was really creepy, though…]" he mumbled.

"[Hey,]" Buizel said, prodding the squirrel's tail. "[What did I tell you about biting? It's bad for you.]"

Pachirisu gasped lightly and stopped biting. "[S-Sorry! But it really _was_ really creepy…]"

"[Huh? It was _soooo_ cool, though!]" Happiny sang.

"[I'm with Pachirisu on this one…]" Chimchar replied, looking perturbed. "[Well, I'm glad things turned out well, anyway.]"

Buizel nodded. "[Right. All thanks to you, Ash and that Sammy guy. Good job,]" he said, looking at Pikachu.

The mouse smiled at him. "[Thanks!]" he replied. "[I didn't do much, but it's more than I usually do on these 'legendary adventures'.]"

"[You have more legendary encounters on your résumé, do ya?]" Ambipom asked.

"[Hehe, yeah, I could write a book on 'em!]"

"[Well, my friend, don't hold out on us!]" Piplup said. "[While lunch continues, tell us more!]"

Pikachu blinked. "[More, huh?]"

"[Wouldn't mind it, myself,]" Buizel replied.

The others murmured in agreement.

Humming in thought, Pikachu took a second to glance around. Ash and the other trainers were busy talking about something while eating their food, which seemed to be some kind of stew. They didn't seem to be finishing up any time soon.

In the distance, the pokémon who weren't in Pikachu's group seemed to talking amongst themselves in their _own_ little group. All except for Sudowoodo, anyway, who seemed to be elsewhere, eagerly talking to someone in the distance. The mouse couldn't see who it was, though. Some small trees were in the way, annoyingly.

"[Ya, ya, ya~!]" Happiny sang, catching his attention. "[Do it! Do it, Pikachu!]"

Buneary, who was next to her, gently ruffled her hair. "[Hmm… maybe he will if you say the magic word, first,]" she said playfully.

"[Oh, oh, ya, ya! Please, Pikachu, please, please!]"

Pikachu laughed. "[Well, why not?]" he replied. He gave a shrug. "[I'm 'specially weak to magic words, so I guess I've no choice, now.]"

Everyone cheered to varying degrees. Except for Buizel, who simply huffed with a grin.

"[Well…]" Pikachu continued. He stalled for a second before shrugging. "[Er… guess I'll start with…]" He clicked his fingers. "[Oh, 'course! How about… my adventure in Alto Mare, with Latias and Latios? The legendary dragon siblings!]"

The others murmured in interest. Ambipom looked a little unimpressed, though.

"[Are those even legendaries, though?]" she asked with a shrug. "[I've heard that people go to leagues and stuff like that with those pokémon all the time.]"

He blinked at her. "[… Really?]"

"[Yeah! They're not very common, but they ain't legendaries, bro.]"

"[… She's right,]" Buizel agreed. "[Even saw one in the wild, once. Not sure which one's which, but still.]"

Pikachu groaned. "[Well, way to kill the hype, you guys…]" he said.

Ambipom waved her paws defensively. "[Hey, man, I'm just sayin'! Rare and legendary ain't the same thing!]" she said.

Pikachu rolled his eyes at her. Tsk…

"[Aww, I'll bet you still had a fun adventure, though!]" Buneary reassured. "[Right?]"

He smiled at her. "[You bet! They were both disguised as humans to avoid dodgy-looking people… well, or at least Latias was… but - when they were discovered by some Team Rocket guys - me, Ash, Brock and our friend, Misty, all helped out to keep 'em safe!]"

"[Why did they want Latias and Latios?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Not just because they're rare, I take it?]" Buizel asked.

"[Ha, nope,]" Pikachu responded. He crossed his arms and frowned in thought. "[Honestly… it was really complicated, so I only remember bits and pieces of the adventure. Like the fossil pokémon those bad guys sent after us, or the huge tidal wave that nearly destroyed the entire town…]" He sighed sadly. "[Yeah, and that tidal wave… To keep it at bay, something called a soul dew was needed. But it got destroyed because of those evil guys, so Latios had to sacrifice himself to save everyone. It was pretty sad…]"

The others reacted with shock and surprise. Happiny looked confused, however.

"[Sack… rah… fyce?]" she asked.

"[That's, um…]" Pikachu started, not entirely sure what to say, "[when someone… gives up their life to save someone else.]"

She tilted her head, as if she still didn't understand. "[Hm?]"

"[Er, he means when… someone dies, I think. Er, I _know,_ ]" Chimchar responded awkwardly.

"[What's 'dies'? 'S'it bad?]"

"[It's... pretty bad,]" Pikachu responded awkwardly.

"[Don't worry, though,]" Buneary reassured, giving Happiny a gentle gaze. "[Hopefully, you won't _ever_ have to go through that. Not for a very long time, anyway.]"

"[Oh… 'kay,]" Happiny responded, still looking a bit confused.

"[It's very sad that that happened to poor Latios, though…]" Pachirisu mumbled, nibbling on his tail.

"[Hey. Tail,]" Buizel chided, tapping him on the tail again. The squirrel gasped lightly and stopped nibbling again in response.

Pikachu huffed and nodded at him. "[Yeah, it was, Pachirisu. Especially when his sister found out. She got pretty sad…]" he said.

Buizel huffed rather loudly. "[… Losing siblings does that.]"

Pikachu was about to respond, but he stopped when he realized how much the mood was starting to dip. Instead, he forced a grin. "[I-It's okay, though! It convinced Latias to become the guardian of Alto Mare, to stop anything like that happening again. Chances are she'll never have to disguise herself again, so she'll be happier, now… and I think Latios would'a liked that.]"

"[Well… that's certainly true, I guess,]" Chimchar responded.

Ambipom nodded. "[True that. And I _know_ he'll know 'bout it! He's watching on from Lord Mew's kingdom in the heavens, I'll bet.]"

Pikachu shrugged. "[Well, Latias saw a special vision, which she showed _us_ with, um… magic. It showed Latios going out of the Earth's atmosphere, or something like that. So probably!]" he replied hopefully.

The others murmured some happy responses.

"[Any _happier_ tales to tell us, by the way, handsome?]" Buneary asked. "[We all need something peppy after that, I'm sure.]"

"[Eheh, yeah, sounds good to me.]" He rubbed his chin. "[Hmm… lessie… _well…!_ ]"

* * *

For the next several minutes or so, Pikachu had given everyone brief summaries on a few more of his legendary adventures.

The first one he'd told them had been about the time a deoxys had come down to Earth, and caused havoc while desperately searching for his girlfriend. Especially once a rayquaza had decided that he needed to die, for whatever reason.

Another tale he'd told them had involved Groudon, and how the legendary had possessed Pikachu in order to save him from Team Magma's capture. Many other shenanigans had taken place that day - no thanks to that team, as well as a group of guys called Team Aqua - so Pikachu had skipped straight to the interesting parts with that. Mostly the part where Groudon had gone off to stop Kyogre from flooding the world, no thanks to being possessed himself.

Finally, right now, he was wrapping up on his story about Jirachi's awakening. That is, the day Jirachi had woken up from a thousand year slumber, only to follow Ash and his friends and cause mischief with his shoddy 'wish granting'. Much like Celebi, it had ended with him being transformed into some giant beast of death with watery tentacles, which Ash had single-handedly stopped. There had been many laughs when he'd mentioned that the villain of the day's name had been 'Butler'.

"[So… that was it, really,]" Pikachu said, wrapping things up. "[With that, he was back to sleep for the next thousand years.]" He chuckled lightly. "[Ready to cause even more mischief the next time he woke up, I'll bet.]"

The others chuckled.

"[What a not so glorious future our poor ancestors hold,]" Piplup joked.

"[Dunno what you're talking about,]" Ambipom replied. "[Sounded like my kinda guy to hang out with!]"

"[Right, so you could mess around with Pikachu some more?]" Buizel asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She put her paws and the hands on her tails up, as if to surrender. "[Yeah, you got me.]"

Buizel clicked his tongue. "[As if there was ever any doubt…]"

The others chuckled while Pikachu shot Ambipom a mock-annoyed look. That sure sounded about right…

"[I wonder if Jirachi's in a nice dream…]" Chimchar mumbled. "[What with him being asleep, and all.]"

"[It _better_ be if he's in it for four whole digits worth'a years!]" Ambipom replied.

"[I hope he won't get lonely…]" Pachirisu responded. "[ _I_ would be If I was asleep all by myself for too long.]" He made a move to nibble again, but stopped when he noticed Buizel eyeing him up. The weasel smiled at him proudly, earning him a beaming smile in return.

Smiling at the sight himself, Pikachu shook his head. "[Don't'cha worry. He went back to sleep with a smile on his face. We even sung him a lullaby!]" he said. He paused. "[… Okay, the _others_ sang. I don't really like singing.]"

Buneary giggled. "[Too much of a macho man for singing, eh?]" she teased.

He huffed and nodded proudly. "[Better believe it!]"

"[Teehee~! I'd call you a prude, but… well, y'know.]"

He blinked. When the others either murmured in vague amusement or confusion, he cleared his throat and looked elsewhere, fighting off a blush. "[A-Anyway! Jirachi's dreams are gonna be filled with memories of the happiest time of his life. Don't you worry!]" he reassured with a thumbs up.

"[Ya, ya!]" Happiny agreed cheerily. "[They'll be the _bestest!_ And he'll never be a lonely again!]"

He huffed in amusement. His ears sprang up at the 'lonely' comment, though. Wait… ooooh, now _there_ was a tale to tell! If only because he wanted to see the reaction of one person in particular. "[Hmm… speaking of lonely legendaries… I met a cool one in a tree, once. Like, this huge as _heck_ magical tree.]"

"[Oh? And which one was it, pray tell?]" Piplup asked.

"[Was it a grass-type one?]" Chimchar asked. "[I mean, if you're putting all the emphasis on the tree, then…]"

"[Hehe, not quite… but kind of!]" Pikachu responded. "[And I don't just mean because his life force was connected to the tree. Er, for some reason.]"

Chimchar scratched his head. "[So… a grass-type legendary that… wasn't one?]"

Pikachu grinned. "[Totally depended on his mood.]"

The others murmured amongst themselves in confusion.

"[… Dun' get it,]" Happiny responded.

Buizel crossed his arms. "[Hmm… you saying he had the power to transform, or something?]" he asked.

Pikachu clicked his fingers. "[Yeah, you got it! Any pokémon you can think of, big or small, he could turn into it, easily!]"

The others gave different responses of awe and surprise.

Pikachu lapped it all up with a smile. He chuckled when he thought of something else. "[Yeah, and he even turned into _me_ at some point, just to freak me out and make me think I had a clone, or something.]"

"[I'll bet it worked easily, huh~?]" Buneary asked cheekily.

"[… Just a bit,]" Pikachu mumbled sheepishly, getting amusement out of everyone.

"[So, who's the mystery man?]" Ambipom asked. "[Don't leave us in suspense! You'll make me think it's Lord Mew himself, or something.]"

Pikachu had to hold back a laugh. "[Um… well…]" He paused when something came to mind. He grinned. "[Heh, well, this is what the dude looked like, if you're interested…!]" He tugged at his face. It bent into the shape of a certain legendary's face with ease. He waved his arms around in a mystic manner. "[Um… mreooooww~!]"

Everyone stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. Some more than others. Namely Ambipom, who had one heck of a raised eyebrow.

"[Um… cats aren't legendaries, my friend,]" Piplup said, looking bewildered. "[You're… aware of that, right?]"

Pikachu sighed and shook his head. "[Noo, it wasn't a _cat._ Well, not a non-pokémon one, anyway,]" he said.

"[Cat…?]" Happiny asked.

"[Oh, they're things that go 'meow' and live in regions with no pokémon,]" Chimchar explained.

Pikachu nodded. "[Yeah. Meowth's a cat pokémon, y'know!]" he added.

"[Oooh, okay!]" Happiny chimed. She pouted. "[… Dun' like cats, then.]"

Buneary giggled and lightly ruffled her hair. "[I doubt they're _all_ like that, silly sausage,]" she cooed.

Buizel huffed amusedly. He crossed his arms in thought. "[Hm. So a cat legendary, was it?]" he asked.

Pikachu nodded and said, "[You got it!]" He stood up and molded his tail with his paws. He made it go long and stringy with a thick ending. Done with that, he waved it around like a snake. "[Mreow mreeeow~!]" He tapped Pachirisu on the nose with the tip of his tail.

The squirrel giggled and swatted at it playfully. "[He sounded really fun!]" he said.

"[Haha, he certainly was!]" Pikachu responded. He pointed at Ambipom. "[After all, just ask Ambipom. I know _she's_ a big fan!]"

Ambipom's head jolted back in surprise. "[Eh? Me? What-?]" she started. Her eyes widened significantly. "[N-No… No way... you're not telling me that… it _is_ him, are ya?]"

Pikachu smirked. "[... I _mayyy_ have come across a certain someone who's like that...]"

"[Get the _heck_ outta here, _really!?_ ]"

He nodded, smirk widening. "[Yup!]"

"[What're you two even talking about?]" Buizel asked.

"[Lord Mew! It's _Lord Mew!_ ]" Ambipom said, sounding like she was barely stopping herself from squealing like a schoolgirl.

Chuckling, Pikachu allowed his face and body to go back to normal. "[Correctamundo! It's Lord Mew!]" he chimed.

His vision was suddenly filled with her beaming face, as she crawled over to stare him in the eyes. "[Oh, man, spill the beans! Tell me everything you know about him!]"

Surprised, he lurched backwards slightly. When he regained his composure, he chuckled again. "[Don't worry, I'll tell ya everything you wanna know.]" He pressed his paw against her forehead and pushed her back. "[Just ask whatever you want and I've got answers!]"

Rubbing her forehead with no less of a smile than before, she sat back down and nodded eagerly. "[You bet your _butt_ I've got questions! What was he like? Did he have a saintly presence? Did he perform any miracles? Did he look exactly like how the pictures depict him?]"

"[Does he perhaps enjoy obsessed fangirls...?]" Piplup asked with a huff.

"[Yeah! Does he-]" She blinked before giving him a sassy frown. "[Hey! What's _that_ supposed t'mean? When someone's seen my god of choice, of _course_ I'm gonna get interested!]"

"[Interested? There's a difference between a celebrity crush and a cult-like celebrity worship, I'll have you know!]"

"[Jealous, much~?]" Buneary asked him teasingly.

The penguin held his head up high. "[... Perish the thought.]"

"[Haha, er, anyway...]" Pikachu started, rubbing the back of his head. "[Lessie... well, he wasn't especially holy, or grand, or anything like that. He was pretty normal, actually. Well, maybe a little eccentric.]"

"[Ecks... sen... Huh?]" Happiny asked.

"[So he was a bit 'strange and wacky', was he?]" Buneary asked. She glanced over in Happiny's direction and smiled when she seemed to get it.

"[Yeah!]" Pikachu replied. "[Well... 'strange' is probably a bit strong, honestly. He just liked playing around and messing with people, mostly.]"

"[So Lord Mew is fun and playful...?]" Ambipom asked, seeming mesmerized.

"[Yup! Oh, and like I said before, he had the _coolest_ ability, too. He could transform into _anything_ he liked!]"

"[Ah, right. Like a ditto, then?]" Buizel asked.

"[Yeah! Oh, and you'll _never_ guess what he disguised himself as, until he showed off his true form to me.]"

"[A piplup?]" Piplup asked immediately.

"[A buneary?]" Buneary asked at practically the same time.

Pikachu sighed in both exasperation and amusement. "[You wish...]" he retorted. He huffed. "[But... well, kind of close, in a way. For, like, several hours, he pretended to be...]" He tugged at his face, twisting it into the shape of a certain monkey. He grinned widely. "[... an aipom!]" He tried to morph his tail into an aipom one. It was too difficult, though, so he just shrugged and waved it about instead. "[Ook, ook mreooow~!]"

"[Heehee! I guess that Lord Mew likes aipoms!]" Pachirisu chimed.

"[Wow, that's... Wow,]" Ambipom started, seeming utterly speechless. "[If... that ain't cool, I don't know _what_ is! Lord Mew's blessed my species!]"

"[Haha! Somehow I knew you'd like that,]" Pikachu replied, allowing his features to go back to normal.

"[Huh...]" Chimchar started, looking curious, "[why did'ja not tell her about Mew- Umm, L-Lord Mew sooner, Pikachu?]"

Ambipom looked like she was about to say something to the other monkey in exasperation. Probably about the 'Lord Mew' thing. She paused with a light gasp before frowning sassily at Pikachu. "[Huh, hey, yeah, what gives? What did'ja hold out on me, for?]"

Pikachu waved his paws defensively. "[H-Hey, can you blame me? You and your pals were dancing around Team Rocket's giant monkey robot like gosh-darn occultists, when I met ya,]" he explained quickly. "[I was afraid that, if I'd mentioned any Mew adventures, you'd tear me inside out for blasphemy, or something,]"

She blushed. "[H-Hey...! We thought we'd discovered the 'one who would lead us to our lord and savior', what else were we gonna do?]"

"[A giant slaking's your chosen one?]" Piplup asked, apparently remembering the time Pikachu had mentioned the tale.

Her face went even brighter. "[I-It was prophesized, shaddap.]"

Pikachu chuckled before shrugging exaggeratedly. "[It's all good now, though. After knowing you for, like, a year, I think I trust you enough to not lynch me for mentioning Mew. So yeah, I'll tell you about him any time!]" he said.

"[You're darn right you will!]" Ambipom said with a grin. Her grin formed into a smile. "[Naw, but really, thanks, man.]"

"[No problem!]"

Her grin returned. "[Just for that, maybe the next dare I give you won't be so extreme, eh?]"

He rolled his eyes at her playfully. "[Hope so... even if I kinda doubt it.]"

She began to chuckle, but suddenly gasped instead, as if something had just occurred to her. "[Ooh, that reminds me...]" She tapped her nose in Buneary's direction with one of her tails' hands.

Buneary pulled a look of exasperation before smiling playfully.

Pikachu was a bit lost, though he could only assume that they had some sort of inside joke going on.

Finished with... whatever _that_ had been, Ambipom turned back to face the mouse. "[Anyways, spill! How'd you end up being all chummy with Lord Mew?]"

"[Hah, well... it's complicated, actually,]" he responded. He briefly acknowledged Buneary getting to her feet for some reason as he wondered how to word things. "[Hmm... well, there was this huge festival in a place called 'Cameran Palace'. We had to dress up in costumes, then we were in this fighting tournament, and then there was a fancy dinner dance.]" He snorted. "[One that Ash wasn't allowed to dance in, poor guy.]"

"[Huh? What'd he do?]" Chimchar asked.

"[Was his dancing too bad?]" Pachirisu asked, sounding amused by the idea.

Pikachu laughed along with the others. "[N-no, no...]" he replied, shaking his head. "[His dancing isn't all that bad, actually. Does even better than _me_ most times!]"

Piplup shrugged exaggeratedly. "[That, I'll believe. What with your unsubtle moves in battle, like the one at breakfast, today.]"

Pikachu frowned at him. "[ _Hey!_ ]"

"[I'm sure your dancing's just fine,]" Buneary said, now standing behind Buizel. She grinned mischievously. "[Especially when you're slow dancing with _me,_ am I right~?]"

Pikachu barely held back a laugh. "[... You've got a comment for just about every situation, don't ya?]" he asked her.

She giggled and winked at him. "[Months of practice, baby~]"

"[At night while mumbling his name and giving her dominant paw a workout, I'd wager...]" Piplup muttered cheekily, earning amusement from Pikachu and Ambipom.

Buneary yelped in shock. She frowned at him. "[Not in front of the kiddies! What have I said, you?]" she scolded.

While Piplup gave her a cheeky apology and the kids gave them both looks of confusion, Pikachu gave out a slow breath. Honestly, after hearing Buneary's 'fantasy' confession, he wouldn't be surprised if she often mumbled Buizel's name, instead.

... He felt a familiar sensation as he gave the image too much thought. Oh, crap.

Face going hotter, he crossed his legs to sit bow-legged. "[Um, anyhoo...!]" he started, holding onto his ankles. "[To wrap up the mystery… Ash wasn't allowed to have fun or even _eat,_ because he and me both won that tournament.]"

The others stared at him blankly.

"[... The fu- Um, _frick_ kind of prize was _that?_ ]" Buizel asked, clearly speaking for everyone.

"[Well, he was told he would have high honors... and he did!]" Pikachu replied. "[By getting to dress up as a famous 'aura guardian hero' guy, and sitting on a chair all night, looking all high and grand. Just like the hero… I think.]"

"[... That's it?]"

"[Heh, yeah...]"

"[... Oh.]"

"[... Er... nice prize?]" Chimchar said.

"[Nothing could've been freaking better, short of getting kicked out of the building,]" Pikachu joked.

He heard Buneary giggle from nearby. She was behind him, now, so he guessed that she was getting ready to sit near him. His awkward problem from before had died down, so he didn't mind too much. Not that it was anything she hadn't seen already. Tsk...

Now fully 'relaxed', Pikachu went back to sitting normally. As he did, he saw Happiny tilting her head.

"[Waita wait, wait... whazza aura?]" she asked.

He paused for a while. Eventually, he just blew a raspberry and shrugged. "[Not a clue.]"

"[I think lucarios fight with it, but that's all I've got,]" Buizel replied, shrugging back.

"[Ah. Well, I think Ash made friends with one that day, so I guess that makes sense.]" When something occurred to the mouse, he scratched his head. "[Hm, actually... come to think of it, I think he dressed up as the aura hero _before_ the tournament, not after.]"

"[Suddenly, it's apparent why they made him masquerade against his will…]" Piplup joked.

"[Did _you_ dress up?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Eheh, yeah,]" Pikachu replied. "[Ash and the other humans forced me into a... um, a clown outfit.]"

"[... A... clown outfit?]" Ambipom asked.

"[... Why?]" Buizel asked, perplexed.

"[All of them were grinning evilly before they did it, so there's a good hint for ya…]" Pikachu replied, pulling an awkward expression.

"[Hah. Gotta remember that for a dare…]" Ambipom mumbled, stroking her chin.

"[Oh, don't even…]" Pikachu said, giving her a look of mock-annoyance.

"[It sounded really funny~]" Pachirisu chimed in amusement.

"[The humans all agreed, that's for sure...]" Pikachu muttered awkwardly. He smiled again. "[Thankfully for me, I lost it before the dinner dance, because that's when- _Hrk!_ ]"

He felt something firmly grip both his butt cheeks at once, making him nearly leap out of his skin. W-What the-!?

He was about to jump up to see what was going on, but when he felt someone's head nuzzle into the back of his neck, he just stiffened up, instead. O-Oh, holy shit, this was a new level of forwardness from that madwoman!

"[What happened at the dinner dance?]" Chimchar asked, oblivious.

"[Ya, ya, tell us, tell us...!]" Happiny added, seeming just as oblivious.

Surprisingly, everyone else seemed just as oblivious as them. How the hell had they not noticed this yet!?

Oh, unless... they thought she was just hugging him? She always acted flirtatious and touchy-feely around him, so... maybe this just looked like her usual nuzzling from the front.

Afraid that the others would catch on - which would be embarrassing beyond belief - Pikachu praised his amazing luck and ignored Buneary's shenanigans.

He stiffened his back and smiled widely. "[W-Well... we met him! Mew! Er, I-I mean as an aipom, that is! … W-Well, actually, we met him _again,_ anyway. First at the end of the fighting tournament, a-and then in the dance. But yeah, second meeting, he, um...]" He nearly yelped when he felt Buneary play with his cheeks by bouncing them up and down. He was covered up by his fur, so she wouldn't be able to see his crack... but that didn't help matters much.

"[What was he doing being an aipom?]" Pachirisu asked.

Pikachu bit on his lip. Ohhh shit, he _really_ didn't want the kids to figure anything out about this! God _damn_ it, Buneary! Of all times to do this, why now!? … Why not later, instead?

... Oh, God, he just remembered. This reminded him of a fantasy he'd once had. Er... minus the kids being around, anyway. In the fantasy, he and Buneary had decided to 'play around' during an intense battle Ash had been in. One with a humongous crowd of people, who they'd decided to do that amongst for no real reason.

The thought of them getting caught any second had made that fantasy a very interesting... um... _Shit,_ why was he trying to remember that _now!?_

Desperate, he pulled his tail out from underneath himself. He quickly morphed his face into an aipom's and waved his tail around, making sure to hide his Buneary-induced shame. "[Um... playing! H-He came down to play! Ook!]"

"[Play?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Hehe, yeah! He didn't want everyone to make a fuss of a mew being there, so he just hid away as an aipom. He was pretty modest like that.]" He chuckled. It went slightly high-pitched as Buneary's 'massages' continued, but nobody seemed to notice. "[Um... sometimes, though, I think he did it just to see the look on me and my friends' faces, when he showed off his true form.]"

"[Mmm, cheeky, was he?]" Buneary asked in a half-whisper right into Pikachu's ear.

He stiffened some more, in every sense of the word. "[R-Right!]" He briefly heard a snort from Ambipom. Looking over at her, he saw her with her paws clamped over her mouth, as if holding back laughter. O-Oh no! Had she seen something!? Or...

... Wait. Oh, of course. Ambipom's dares... That monkey _fucker_.

Almost as if confirming it, he could hear Buneary breathing in a way that suggested she was trying not to laugh, too. They were in cahoots!

Well, now he was determined not to show off his embarrassment for a _different_ reason. He wouldn't lose to her freaking antics!

He clenched his fists. "[Anyway… yeah! We played with that 'aipom', went up to the attic with him to play with some toys he knew about… and all of a sudden, he turned into _me!_ I thought I'd gone freaking _crazy,_ or something!]"

"[Ah! His apparent cheekiness in play!]" Piplup chimed. "[Pray tell, did he randomly transform into his true form, to give you a good freakout?]"

"[Hit the nail on the head, bud!]" Pikachu replied. "[He chose a weird time for it, though. He did it after Meowth randomly crashed through the window, flat on his butt, dazed...]" After saying 'butt', he had to gulp as it reminded him of what was going on behind him.

He stood firm, though, and continued. "[H-He, um… Mew sure giggled when Meowth woke up and gave him a heck of a look, though. I was just too stunned to say anything.]"

"[No blaming you for that,]" Ambipom said, still clearly giggling to herself over her dumb dare.

He held back the temptation to shoot her a frown and continued. "[It was just hectic after that, though. To keep it brief... two weaviles appeared to... capture Mew, I think? But Mew, being the jokester he is, didn't take it very seriously until I got knocked out. Then he teleported me and Meowth to his tree, where I woke up.]"

He paused for everyone's surprised and awed reactions before continuing. "[Not very surprisingly, we all had fun together for days on end. Running about his tree, playing with all the toys he'd had stored away, and cracking jokes... It was _great_ until I asked to go home. Mew... wasn't a fan of that idea.]"

Ambipom looked fearful. "[Huh? W-What did he do?]"

"[He, um... got a bit upset and tried his best to convince me and Meowth to stay with him. Almost begged, even. Tried bribing me with toys, and everything.]"

She blinked. She breathed a sigh of relief before frowning at him. "[J-Jeez, way to make a girl feel like their lord and savior was gonna be some kind of creepy lunatic!]"

He smiled sheepishly. "[Eheh, ah, sorry. Nah, he just got sad.]" He fidgeted with his tail, which he was still using to hide his Buneary-induced embarrassment. Thankfully, she'd calmed down on fondling his ass, so he had a chance of getting through this, after all. "[Hmm, yeah, thinking about it... I remember thinking that he must've been really lonely to be so keen to keep me and _Meowth_ of all pokémon around.]"

Pachirisu looked sad. "[Me- _Lord_ Mew would've had to look after that tree, with no one else around to be his friend,]" he said.

"[Yeah, exactly.]" Pikachu smiled. "[S'okay, though. Ash and the team found a new pokémon buddy along the way, and left 'em to stay with him for company.]" He scratched his head with his free paw. "[Forgot what that buddy was, though. Didn't get to talk to 'em. All the same, though, yeah. I think Mew'll be alright with a new roommate, now.]"

Ambipom huffed. "[Bunking with Lord Mew? Some pokémon have _all_ the luck…]" she mumbled.

"[Haha, well, helps that the little guy or gal won't be pestering him for autographs every few minutes, like I know _you_ would.]"

She put her paws on her hips. "[Begging for one or two autographs is _not_ every few minutes, rabbit for brains.]"

He huffed quietly. If the kids hadn't been around, he just _knew_ that insult would've used _very_ different words, indeed.

Putting that thought aside, he started wondering if he should mention how Ash and the other humans had died that day. Getting swallowed up by some weird blobs that had been guarding the tree, until Mew had saved them by reversing the blobs' 'engineering'. Something that had caused Mew quite a mischief, when he and the tree had gotten sick and had started dying, until Lucario's sacrifice.

Mmm, nah. The last thing he wanted to do was suggest that Mew could casually take mortal injuries. Besides, with Lucario's death and Ash's near death - not to mention how Pikachu had lost all of his man points with his crying - it was set to sour the mood like all Hell, again. So… maybe that was best kept to himself.

He nearly shrieked when he felt Buneary's massages start up again. She'd started trying to spread and clench his cheeks like they were goddamn wings. He was _so_ very glad that he was covered up right now.

"[Er… you okay there, my friend?]" Piplup asked, confused. "[Your face did quite the contortion just then.]"

"[Yeah… you looked like you were in pain,]" Chimchar added, looking concerned.

… Whoops.

Ignoring Ambipom's stifled laughing, Pikachu worked his brain trying to come up with an excuse. "[… E-Er… yeah, er…]" he started.

Buneary gave a big satisfied sigh from behind him. "[Yep, sounds like I've done my job!]" she chimed. She turned to give him a side glance while cracking her knuckles. "[Those stiff back joints won't be bothering you again for a while~]"

"[Oh, so _that's_ why you were sitting behind him for so long,]" Buizel said. "[Should've figured.]"

"[Yeah, makes enough sense,]" Piplup agreed. He huffed. "[To have a personal back massager on beck and call… Methinks _Pikachu_ might be the one with all the luck!]"

Pikachu blinked. He nodded vigorously. "[Y-Yeah! Thanks, Buneary!]" he said, giving her a big beaming smile. It felt less forced than he'd intended it to, probably because she'd saved him from the very thing she'd cursed him with, in the first place.

… That and the ideas this 'cursing' had given him for later were nice, too. Eheh~.

"[Not a problem,]" Buneary replied, grinning. "[Aching muscles are of memories past with my magic fingers~]"

Piplup huffed in amusement. "[Those 'magic fingers' of yours are rather versatile when Pikachu's involved, I'll bet,]" he said, giving her a knowing look.

Pikachu felt a stab of horror go through him. It faded when he realized that the guy wasn't alluding to anything; he was just cracking a generally dirty joke.

Relieved, he chuckled lightly, though he saw Buneary's eyes widen in shock. She glanced at the kids before frowning at the penguin. "[Around the kids, _again?_ You and me are going to have words later on, mister,]" she scolded.

"[Oh, _whaaat?_ ]" Piplup argued. "[My words are outside of their realm of understanding.]"

"[Not for long, if you keep that up!]"

"[I could say the same! You're like a ravished succubus half the time, I swear!]"

Pikachu glanced at the kids. They just seemed confused.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. Well, neither of them were wrong. While vaguely subtle, Piplup really wasn't exactly good at keeping the kids in mind. At the same time, though, Buneary was complaining about this when she'd been fondling his butt just seconds ago... Still, at least she'd been secretive about it, he guessed. Plus, it'd been a _dare,_ so…

"[Heyy, d-don't fight, guys...]" Pachirisu said, looking mildly upset. "[I don't even care about no fingers...]"

"[Wazza finger?]" Happiny asked. "[Is it bad, if everyone's all mad?]"

The older pokémon either laughed or chuckled at that. Even Buneary and Piplup, who'd stopped bickering in amusement.

"[Don't, er… don't worry about it,]" Chimchar replied.

"[Yeah, it's nothing, you guys,]" Pikachu added. His eyes widened and he grinned as something came to him. "[Oh, oh! Tell you what... speaking of Mew, I've just remembered something. Something involving his... _family member_ , kind of, sort of. One even _he_ might not know about...!]"

Everyone gave him various looks of surprise.

"[He… has _family?_ ]" Ambipom asked, seeming especially surprised, unsurprisingly.

Huffing in amusement at both her attitude and his own little 'surprise' joke, Pikachu nodded. "[Yup! Um, kinda. More specifically, he's Mew's clo-]"

"Alright, guys! Hope you're all done eating!" Ash called out, getting up from his chair. "If we're getting to Sandalstraw Town tonight, we'd better get walking!"

"Yep! No _way_ I'm missing that contest!" Dawn added excitedly. She pointed towards the horizon. "From here, we can see it! So I'll bet we'll get there in no time at all!"

Pikachu looked in the direction she was pointing. He couldn't see anything right now because of the forest, but he guessed that the humans could faintly see the town.

"All the same, like Ash said…" Brock added, getting on with putting their stuff away, "better to start walking now, just to make sure. Not that they'll be any objections to that, am I right?"

Dawn giggled happily. " _Totally_ right! Ooh, I can't wait~!" she chimed, seeming like she was barely holding herself back from sprinting there right now.

Huffing, Pikachu turned back to face everyone. They all looked either amused or exasperated. "[Guess that's that, then. Time for adventure!]" he said.

"[Aww… Story's over, then,]" Pachirisu said, pouting.

"[Hmph! No fair, no fair!]" Happiny said, also pouting.

"[Ahh, drat!]" Ambipom said, pouting even harder than the two kids combined. "[Way to cliffhanger me, bro! Dropping a hint to my lord's family just in time for me to never hear it!]"

"[Like hoisting a juicy worm above a pool of starved fish,]" Piplup joked, chuckling.

"[Don't rub it in, you!]"

"[H-Hey, it'll be okay. We can hear it later on, can't we?]" Chimchar replied.

"[Well…]" Pikachu started. He grinned. "[… Y'know, it'll be a long walk, so… I could give you the story as we go along!]"

Everyone immediately beamed and gave him positive responses, so if that wasn't a go ahead, he didn't know _what_ was.

"[Looks like our story teller's not quitting his day job _just_ yet~]" Buneary chimed, winking at him.

He smirked at her. "[Got _that_ right! And anyone who's up for listening, just follow my lead and I'll tell ya everything I've got!]"

Buizel nodded. "[Right. Well, I'm in,]" he said.

Everyone agreed with him.

Pikachu hopped to his feet and gave a thumbs up. "[Well, sweet! Help me help our trainers, and those stories are yours!]" he said enthusiastically.

Everyone responded energetically. Some of them paused and looked at him with wide eyes, though.

He faltered, wondering why. That lasted for all of three seconds, until he realized that he wasn't using his tail to cover up anymore.

**_… SHIT!_ **

* * *

Heh… it seemed they were on the move again. His special little spy had told him as such.

He gave out the next set of instructions to follow before cutting communications. Instructions for the important mission that would soon bring closure to everything.

He would finally have the thing he'd been seeking for so, so long...

He smiled widely and turned back to his screen. Soon…

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Originally finished:** 01/05 (May)/2019 (Happy belated May Day!)

**Word count:** 7,487

**VGS2's pointless notes:** Thanks for reading, and sorry for the hiatus! Been fixing up all my other stuff, not to mention doing a real life, so times have been busy. Hope you enjoyed yourself with these legendary tales, though! :D If I fudged up a detail, then please let me know! I especially know that a lot of people like Alto Mare shiz, so I'm sure you'll have a lot to say, there.

**Debateable fanfic tip #7 (OCs are always human, unless reminded!):** Whenever I'm bored enough, I often enjoy looking for a good edgy fic to get disturbed/amused by. Because of that, I run into a lot of fics with original characters in them, mostly pokémon. Seems fair enough, right?

Well, that's the thing, y'see… a lot of the time, I have no idea what pokémon I'm looking at, until I'm reminded. I mean granted, that's probably because I have a brain the size of a diddled ant, but I can't help but notice that OCs can be a bit overly… anthro, maybe?

By that I mean, for one, people often forget to drop a hint as to what their species is, a lot of the time. Stuff like scratching an obvious physical part they have (like a horn, or their fluff, or whatever), or having their species being name-dropped in the narrative (stuff like 'he looked at the pikachu/mouse/yellow piece of shit/whatever). Stuff like that would help people remember who's who if there's a lot of characters, or if someone's just skimming through, to decide if they'll wanna continue, or whatever.

Another thing people forget (myself included, lol) is the physical attributes of the pokémon they're writing for. Some mons are quite small, for instance, or have a physical trait that would make things awkward. Stuff like that's a good idea to think about if you're ever writing for them.

Case in point, my favourite mistakes to see in fics are when pokeymons with teeny limbs are able to tap someone way taller than them on the shoulder. Or when a creature that's one foot tall has a huge-ass penis, for some reason. Like, the world-record as far as I've ever seen for a donger is seven inches for a mouse that can fit on a ten year old's shoulder. XD To compare, if it were _your_ dong, you would probably be able to smack yourself in the forehead with it. That is, if you had enough blood in your body to erect it, anyway.

Aside from peens, there's stuff like pokémon having no feet, or no eyes, or whatever else, you get the picture. All in all, my tip is: try to picture your OC's attributes in your head when you write, and be sure to remind people of what you see! Hope that helps, mates! :P

**Fun mistake of the day #1:** it had ended with him being transformed **INto** some giant beast of death,

(Reminds me of those TVs you can shove yourself into in Pulseman. The ones that say IN for some reason.)

**#2:** '"[You have more legendary encounters on your **resume,** do ya?]" Ambipom asked.'

(Without the accented é, it looks like he has legendary adventures to continue some other time.)

**#3:** "[… Okay, the others sang. I don't relly like **sining** ]"

(You sin in the bushes every day, Pikachu, don't lie.)

**#4:** 'Rubbing her forehead with no less of a **frown** than before, she sat back down and nodded eagerly.'

(Um... why's she frowning? XD Guess hearing news of her lord and savior really pisses her off.)

**#5:** "[And I don't just mean because his **tree** was connected to the **tree** ]"

(That's how Sudowoodo makes love to fellow sudowoodo.)

**#6:** 'Buneary giggled and lightly ruffled **a** hair'

(She must be the most delicate woman alive, then, if she can ruffle only one hair at a time. Unless she's messing with Psyduck, or Baldi, or something.)

**#7:** "[To wrap up the mystery, Ash wasn't **allwed]"**

(ravengal made a joke about Serena and Ash being 'all wed', but I refuse to make it. Screw that!)

**#8:** "[He, um... got a bit upset and tried his best to convince **me to** and Meowth to stay with him.]"

(Me to… what? What's with the awkward end to that sentence…? O,o Oh, Mew, you dodgy bastard!)

**#9:** 'He chuckled. It went slightly high-pitched as Buneary's **'messages'** continued, but nobody seemed to notice.'

(She's sending secret dirty messages to him on his phone, I guess. What is this, Mezamun's fics?)

**#10:** "[Yeah, thinking about it... I remember thinking that he must've been really I think he was really lonely.

(That's a lot of thinking.)

**#11:** He held back **to** temptation to shoot her a frown and continued.

(He had to hold back a second for some sweet temptations. Perhaps something lust-based, knowing him.)

**#12:** 'Thankfully, she'd calmed down on **fondly** his ass,'

(The cutest way of describing a fondling, ever. Unless she doesn't think fondly of his butt, anymore. D:)

**#13:** 'His eyes **widened** and he grinned **widely** as something came to him.'

(Considering Buneary's actions, I'll bet his ass will widen, next...)

**#14:** Pachirisu looked sad. "[Me- **Lord** would've had to look after that tree with no one else around to be his friend,]" he said.

(Ooh, not me lord!)

**#15:** 'He **stroked** his head with one paw.'

(Whoops! I meant scratched. No, instead, I guess he's gonna pet himself in what might be the saddest display of all time. XD (Unless it means his _other_ head! Honhonhon!))

**#16:** "[Begging for one or two autographs is _not_ **ever** few minutes,]"

(You're right, it isn't the description for a passage of time.)

**#17:** 'he started wondering if he should mention how Ash **dyed.'**

(In Ash's goth phase, he was fond of getting some mad dyes.)

**#18:** 'He couldn't see anything right now because of the **forests,** '

(Multiple forests? Forests within forests? Forestception? Pretty much sums up the anime, to be fair. Endless forests. XP)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Recounts!


	8. The Lives That Had Been Led

Now wearing her vest, Buneary smiled as she walked alongside Pikachu, following closely behind the humans as they travelled. Piplup, Ambipom, Buizel, Chimchar and Pachirisu walked together, listening intently to the mouse's stories. Even Happiny was with them, held by Buizel as he moved along. She was napping for the time being, though. Every other pokémon had agreed to be put away inside their pokéballs.

Buneary was greatly enjoying the story that Pikachu was telling everyone currently. One about his encounter with Mewtwo, a strange clone of Mew who'd once lived atop a huge mountain, along with a load of pokémon clones.

It had been a very interesting story. Especially when the topics of Team Rocket's boss and Pikachu's very own clone had come up. The mouse really had a knack for storytelling! Even if his tales _were_ a little hard to believe, sometimes.

Considering all the sights she and her comrades had seen on their journey through Sinnoh so far, however… she felt compelled to believe his words. After all, when one has witnessed the impossible with their very own eyes... impossibility itself can become impossible.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for him, though. The entire time he'd walked and talked, he'd been holding an older cap of Ash's adorned with a green logo against himself. Specifically, the part of his abdomen he now found shameful. Even after she'd reassured him that nobody had seen anything _too_ damning. If one didn't consider a vague yellow bulge against his groin damning, anyway.

She held back a chuckle. She'd had a feeling following Ambipom's bet would be funny, but she'd had no idea it would cause such a stir. Even after she'd been so careful to stay discreet about it, too.

... On that note... she hoped he hadn't been too annoyed about it. He hadn't said anything about it, but he _was_ pretty hard to read sometimes. Not to mention that thing he'd said about the type of relationship he wanted out of her...

... She took a deep breath and focused on Pikachu again, as he continued with his story. No… she didn't want to think about that right now. She had to ignore it and keep on smiling.

"[… So thanks to Ash, we left Mt. Quena with our memories intact!]" Pikachu chimed, seemingly wrapping up his story.

"[Really? Mewtwo let you and Team Rocket go, just like that?]" Chimchar asked.

"[Yup! Didn't make anyone forget a single thing, this time. Not unless they were Team Rocket's boss, or any of the other guys who work for him.]"

"[A rather generous deal, I must say,]" Piplup said.

"[Yeah! He really _must_ be a clone of Lord Mew, then!]" Ambipom chimed. She sighed sadly. "[… Too bad for the whole 'never take up the mantle of a false god before Lord Mew' thing, or else I'd _definitely_ believe he wouldn't get smited.]"

"[ _Again_ with Mewtwo needing a smiting?]" Pikachu said, rolling his eyes at the monkey. "[It's not _his_ fault some lab guys went and cloned your god.]"

She shrugged. "[I can't change facts, you know that!]"

"[Have you met Mewtwo and the clones, since?]" Pachirisu asked Pikachu excitedly.

Pikachu shook his head. "[Nah, sadly. I think about 'em sometimes. Especially Pikachutwo, because… well, he _is_ my clone, after all.]"

"[Fair enough,]" Buizel replied. "[He's like your… brother, or something.]"

Pikachu looked at him sheepishly. "[Ehh, that's a bit of a romanticized way of putting it, ain't it?]"

"[The guy literally has your DNA. He's your little brother, through and through.]"

"[If you say so…]"

Buneary nuzzled against Pikachu's side and flashed him a cheeky grin. "[Cut from the same cloth or not, I'll bet he was _still_ nowhere near as attractive as _you_ ~]" she said.

He chuckled and groaned. "[… I was waiting for that the whole story, y'know…]"

"[I'd hate to disappoint~]"

Pachirisu gasped suddenly. "[Oh, oh, wait, wait… _you_ dreamed about a pikachu that looked like you this morning, Pikachu!]" he said excitedly. "[Was that him? Was it that Pikachutwo?]"

"[A very good point indeed!]" Piplup said. "[Especially since Mewtwo had done you the misdeed of killing off your memories of him and the clones! It could be related!]"

Pikachu paused. He thought about it for a while before shrugging. "[Maybe…? Dunno, though… I felt pretty young in that dream, but I was kinda young when I was travelling 'round Kanto, so who knows, I guess?]" he replied.

Buneary rubbed Pachirisu on the head. "[Good detective work, bucko~. You'll be the next Sherlock Holmes, yet!]" she praised.

He giggled happily. "[Yay~! Thanks!]" he chimed.

"[What, no praise for yours truly, too?]" Piplup complained.

Buneary snorted in amusement. "[Okay, then, Watson,]" she joked, sticking her tongue out at him with a wink.

"[I'm better than a Watson, woman!]" he retorted, punctuating himself with a loud huff.

Snickering to herself, she turned back to Pikachu, who also looked amused. "[So, any more stories? Maybe some that relate to your past somehow?]" she asked.

"[Mmm, maybe, but I dunno, honestly,]" he replied. He yawned. "[Honestly, I love talking about myself 'n' all, but I'm getting a bit tired of talking about _just_ me.]"

"[Aww, but hearing your stories is so great, though...]" Pachirisu whined.

"[Yeah, I never knew I'd meet someone who's seen _legendaries,_ ]" Chimchar added. "[Like, all up, close and personal, I mean.]"

"[Agreed. Your life is a constant source of excitement, my friend,]" Piplup said to Pikachu.

"[You bet your as-]" Ambipom started. She paused and briefly glanced at Pachirisu. "[Um, you bet your _tail end_ his life is exciting, meeting people like Lord Mew!]"

Pikachu shrugged. "[Hey, you say that when I bet _your_ lives are some good hearing, too,]" he said. He gasped and smiled. "[Oh, hey, you know what? Why don't you tell me something about you guys?]"

Buneary and everyone else gave him various degrees of questioning looks.

"[Huh? What kinda something?]" Ambipom asked.

"[Y'know... like what inspired ya to go and leave your homes and get yourselves caught,]" Pikachu explained. "[Just anything you think is interesting, really!]" He pointed at Ambipom. "[Like you, Ambipom! I'll bet you have all sorts of stories about your religion!]"

"[Er, maybe...?]"

He pointed at Buizel. "[Or you, Buizel! Like... what started your obsession with collecting fishing lines in the first place, back before we met ya?]"

"[Er... not sure if that would make a good story...]" the weasel replied, looking a bit awkward.

"[Try us!]"

"[Y'know, I wouldn't complain about that,]" Chimchar agreed. "[About some stories, I mean. I don't know much about you guys.]"

"[Yeah! Let's tell stories!]" Pachirisu chimed excitedly.

"[Well... if it's storytelling you want, my dear friends...]" Piplup started, catching everyone's attention, "[then I'd be happy to oblige all you want, and then some!]"

Buneary giggled. "[That's just like you, Piplup. The second we let you talk about yourself, you're all over it, aren't'cha?]" she teased.

He ignored everyone's amusement and put his flippers to his hips. "[I haven't the faintest idea what you mean.]"

"[So, what's your story, what's your story?]" Pachirisu asked excitedly.

"[Hmm, let's see...]" The penguin tilted his head to and fro while still walking, clearly deep in thought.

Buizel huffed. "[How about you tell us why you started talking like some sort of hipster poet?]" he asked.

Piplup frowned at him. "[What do you mean _'hipster poet'?_ I am not a hipster, just because my dialect is grand!]"

"[Right, whatever you say...]"

"[Hmph! Well, in any case, sure, that sounds like a glorious enough tale. The tale of how I came to be so proficient in the pokémon language!]" He scratched his chin. "[Where to start... I suppose it started in the same place I was born and hatched. The Sandgem Breeding Center.]"

"[You're not gonna give us your _whole_ life story, are ya?]" Pikachu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"[Of course not! Do you consider me _that_ egotistical?]"

Pikachu smirked. "[... I won't say no...!]"

Piplup huffed again. "[Well, _you're_ a huge pain, so _there._ ]" He stuck his tongue out at the mouse, who just chuckled and stuck his own tongue out in response.

Buneary giggled lightly to herself. That mouse was so frigging cheeky. She just loved to hear him mouth off.

Piplup cleared his throat. "[Anyway, back in those days, I guess one could have considered me the... runt of the litter. As in, of all the starter pokémon that lived in the center, I was... er...]"

"[Oh no, they didn't bully you, did they?]" Chimchar asked.

"[Huh? Well, no...]"

"[Did they not let'cha eat until they were finished eating?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Not that...]"

"[Were you just the youngest one, or somethin'?]" Ambipom asked with a shrug.

"[Highly doubted. There was a new starter every week, it felt like.]"

Her shrug grew more exaggerated in exasperation. "[Then how the heck were you a runt of _anything?_ ]"

"[Eheh, well...]" Piplup rubbed the back of his head while looking uncharacteristically sheepish. The response left Buneary more curious than she'd expected to be at a story from Piplup. "[I was... really, um... boring,]" he finished.

Everyone stared at him.

"[... You? Boring?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Really?]" Buizel asked.

"[... Yes,]" Piplup responded.

"[... How? You're anything _but_ boring.]"

"[Well, my dialect was devoid of any fancy lingo or idioms, and I did not portray myself as very grand, so... I just never stood out amongst my peers.]"

"[... Huh?]" Pachirisu mumbled.

"[He talked like a normal person, so he didn't think he was very interesting,]" Buneary said, adding a bit of a joking tone.

"[Oh...]"

"[That's the layman's way of describing it, perhaps...]" Piplup replied, "[but it was not just that. I truly was, as one might say... pretty bland.]"

"[Hey, that's a bit much, don't you think?]" Chimchar asked.

The penguin shook his head. "[Not at all. I never had anything to talk about... I didn't show off… I didn't even say anything extravagant, either. I truly was just another sheep in the herd.]"

"[Nice simile, there,]" Buneary said with an amused huff.

"[Many thanks!]"

"[So what convinced you to change so much, then?]" Pikachu asked. "[I doubt it happened outta the blue.]"

Ambipom perked up excitedly. "[Ohhh, I'll bet anything - and I mean _anything_ \- that it had something to do with that superhero you really like! Zhordos, the Greek… no… _Norse_ zapdos god, wasn't it?]"

"[Oh, my dear Ambipom, you got it!]" Piplup replied happily. He became starry-eyed. "[We were all watching movies one day, I and all of my siblings through blood or otherwise... and I was enraptured! His masculine pride... his way with words... his utterly _grand_ way of delivering justice... It all came together in the most amazing experience of my life!]" He stuck his chest out proudly. "[It was on that day forth that I wished to be just _as_ amazing. And so I practiced, and watched more of his films and shows in secret… until the day when I, too, could call myself _grandiose!_ ]"

"[... You know he's fictional, right?]" Buizel said, head tilted.

Piplup deflated. "[W-Well, yeah, but... you know...]"

"[Hey, shut up, Buizel, don't crush his hopes and dreams!]" Pikachu chided.

Buizel started to look sheepish. "[W-Well... er, it's still good to have... something that gets you going, I guess,]" he quickly backpedaled with.

Piplup pouted. "[… Damn straight,]" he mumbled.

"[So were you happy with things, after you became more, er… 'interesting'?]" Chimchar asked.

"[… Ehhh, sort of. Of course, nothing made me feel more _alive_ than the grandeur flowing through my very being! … But everyone else just found it kind of weird, so they… stopped talking to me. And gave me funny looks.]"

"[… Oh,]" Chimchar replied sadly.

"[Huh, sorry to hear that,]" Pikachu added, also looking saddened.

"[It's quite alright,]" Piplup replied, waving him off. "[It was a rather sad time, but it did not last long. I was put up for being Dawn's starter shortly afterwards, and the rest, as they say, was history!]"

Pikachu perked up. "[Well, that's cool!]"

"[Explains why you had a dodgy start with Dawn, I guess,]" Buizel said. "[You didn't trust her, much, did you?]"

Piplup sighed. "[Oh yes, I nearly forgot. I was afraid she, too, would drop contact with me. Even with our natural language barrier. As such, we did not get along at first…]"

"[Look at you two, now, though. Two peas in a pod!]" Ambipom chimed.

"[Absolutely!]" He smiled up at the coordinator in question, though she didn't notice, due to talking with Ash and Brock. "[She is my equal! My partner in crime, if you will! Minus the crime, of course. So I would say the sad times are behind me.]"

"[Hooray~!]" Pachirisu cheered.

Buneary smirked at the penguin. "[She doesn't even mind how mischievous, or, um… 'eager' you are,]" she joked, using terms she didn't mind Pachirisu hearing.

Piplup huffed and put his beak in the air. "[I'll give you mischievous, but I am not 'eager', just because of my, er…]" He eyed up the squirrel and stalled for a second, "[… Um, you know. 'Healthy appetite'.]"

Pachirisu tilted his head, seeming just as confused as Buneary had hoped he would be.

"[You're a darn-near sexual deviant with that 'healthy appetite' of yours, Piplup, don't lie,]" Ambipom said, grinning at him sassily.

Buneary's eyes widened. Oh, for crying out loud…!

"[How can you say such a thing when Pikachu's around, woman?]" Piplup said to Ambipom with a dry frown. "[When he was all too happy to tell us his lewd daydreams and then show his suspiciously bulging fur?]"

"[Lewd daydreams…?]" Chimchar murmured, sounding a bit confused and perturbed.

"[Oh, Hell…]" Buizel muttered, burying his face into Happiny's hair in lieu of a facepalm. She was still asleep, thankfully.

Pikachu's face started going visibly red. Buneary would have found it kind of funny, but she was too busy frowning at Piplup for that.

"[Hey, hey, are you two seriously talking about this now, when kids are present?]" Buneary said in annoyance, pointing at Pachirisu. "[You're lucky I'm trying to be a good role model, or that would be Dizzy Punches for both of you, right there!]"

"[O-Oh yeah… whoops, forgot, sorry,]" Ambipom said, looking distressed. "[Er… ignore all that, Pachirisu, won't ya?]"

"[Y-Yes, please, before we get our poor faces pressed in by Buneary's ears,]" Piplup added a bit worriedly.

Buneary looked at Pachirisu, hoping to see an utterly confused expression. Instead, he only seemed slightly befuddled. "[Huh?]" he started. "[Why's everyone talking about sexings and trying to hide them from me?]"

Everyone stopped in place and stared at the squirrel in shock, with Pikachu even dropping Ash's hat. Buneary also felt a little piece of her soul die, as if she'd witnessed her precious little flower's petals all wilt at once.

Also stopping, Pachirisu shrunk under everyone's gazes. "[W-What? W-Why's everyone staring?]" he mumbled.

The rabbit gulped and, as calmly as she could, asked, "[Um… Pachirisu… where did you hear about… 'that'?]"

"[W-What? About everyone hiding things a-and stuff?]"

"[She means that freaking 'sexings' comment ya made, Pachirisu!]" Ambipom said.

"[O-Oh…]"

"[Let me guess… you got it from one of us, right?]" Buizel asked with a rough sigh.

"[Huh? No…]" Pachirisu replied. "[I learned it from my mom and my dad.]"

"[Your… mom and dad? Really?]" Chimchar asked.

"[Y-Yeah…]" Pachirisu brought his tail out and started to nibble on it. "[I-I'm sorry, did I say something really naughty?]"

Buneary moved over to him and gave him a hug. "[No, no, it's okay, Sweetie, it's okay,]" she said comfortingly. "[It's just… that's a bit of a grown up thing to know about, so we're trying to learn how you found out about it.]"

He stopped nibbling, but he looked a bit lost. "[O… kay?]"

"[Did you walk in on your parents and see anything… weird?]" Pikachu asked.

Pachirisu shook his head. "[I dunno about weird… They were always doing some sex.]"

"[Not unlike Pikachu and Buneary in a year or two, I'll bet…]" Piplup muttered to Ambipom quietly.

Ambipom snorted out a laugh. Buneary rolled her eyes at them saying that at such a time, but chose not to comment.

"['Always'?]" Pikachu asked Pachirisu, apparently not having heard Piplup. He picked Ash's hat up and held it against himself again. "[A-And you kept walking in on them?]"

"[Yeah. It was kind of hard not to…]"

"[Pretty bad at finding a hiding place, then…]" Buizel said.

"[Huh? They didn't hide, though. They just did it as soon as my next brother or sister's egg was laid.]"

Everybody stared again. A lot of blinking happened before anybody spoke.

"[As soon as…]" Pikachu started. He paused for a while and then shook his head with a sigh. "[Nope, you've lost me, Pachirisu. The way you said it makes it sound like they kept making kids nonstop, or something.]"

"[Yeah, they did!]" the squirrel replied.

Pikachu blinked. "[… Oh. Never mind, then.]"

"[… How… many siblings did you have, Pachirisu?]" Chimchar asked.

Pachirisu tapped his cheek in thought. "[Umm… er… I was forty-seven, so… what's forty-seven plus twelve, again?]"

"[ _Forty-seven!?_ ]" Buneary yelped in shock.

"[Plus _twelve!?_ ]" Piplup screeched, sounding just as shocked.

"[Er… s-so far…]" Pachirisu mumbled. "[And… I think there was another one coming before I runne- er, ran away.]"

"[Hoo boy, well done, Mom and Dad…]" Ambipom said with a whistle of admiration.

"[Why did they want so many freaking kids?]" Buizel asked in an utterly flabbergasted tone.

"[I dunno…]" Pachirisu replied. "[Something about wanting to set a… record, was it? Something about having more babies than anyone else in the forest.]"

"[Well, they freaking won, kiddo,]" Pikachu said, slowly shaking his head. "[Most couples usually just settle for one or two kids. Not an _army_ of them!]"

"[Yeah! Jeez, Louise!]" Chimchar cried out. "[How the heck can you physically have _that_ many siblings!? It takes, like, _two_ weeks or something for the egg to come out, and you're only a _bit_ over a year old! How does that even-!?]"

"[Huh? Whazza noish…?]" Happiny sleepily grumbled all of a sudden. Looking over, Buneary saw her still in Buizel's arms, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Oh, for the love of all that was holy in the world… All of their screeching, Chimchar's especially, must have jostled her awake.

Well, Buneary _really_ didn't want her to wake up and hear any of this! So there was only one thing to do. She quickly moved over to Buizel and reached up with her ear to rub Happiny's leg comfortingly. "[Shh, shh... it's okay, baby, it's okay...]" she murmured.

"[Er, yeah, time to... sleep, kid,]" Buizel added while gently rubbing the baby's head.

"[Yahh...]" Happiny mumbled. "[Mm, wan' play'ime, though...]"

"[We're... doing boring grown-up things, Happiny,]" Pikachu replied gently. "[You'd get _very_ bored, so just go to sleep now, okay?]"

"[Grown-up...?]" Pachirisu mumbled.

Happiny's eyes drifted shut. "[Aww. 'Kay...]" she mumbled.

Pikachu smiled. "[Heh, good girl,]" he cooed.

"[Goodnight, Happiny,]" Buneary said softly, flashing Pikachu an appreciative smile.

"[Mmmm, g'nigh'...]" Happiny mumbled. It didn't take long before she went back to lightly snoring.

Buneary stopped rubbing the baby's leg and breathed a sigh of relief. She heard sighs of relief from the others, too.

"[S-Sorry...]" Chimchar said awkwardly.

"[Why is everyone being a bit weird about this?]" Pachirisu asked, looking very confused. "[Why do you want Happiny to stay asleep? And what's that about grown-up stuff?]"

"[Kid... S-Sex is an, um... It's... ah...]" Buizel started, pausing with a strained frown, as if not knowing what to say. "[... Actually, tell us what you know about it already, alright? Er, please.]"

"[Well... my mom and my dad did it to make me more brothers and sisters. That's what one of my sisters said to me, anyway.]"

"[Okay... D'you know what... goes on?]"

"[Yeah! I saw them do it a lot, because we had this big, big tree we sleeped in. Actually, we had a _lot_ of big trees we sleeped in...]"

Buneary nearly corrected his grammar on instinct, but held off for the time being.

Pachirisu continued. "[Our mom and dad sleeped right in the middle of all the trees, on the little tree _they_ had, so we saw them have their sexes a lot.]"

"[What?]" Piplup said in disbelief. "[So they really made no attempt to hide themselves away while doing the deed? At all?]"

"[Nope, so I saw a _lot_ of weird things. They also made some really weird noises while they were doing that stuff. I used to think they were hurting each other, but... they did it for ages, and they looked real glad 'bout it, so I guess not.]"

"[ _Pfft...!_ Guess you don't need any sex ed, then, huh, kid?]" Ambipom joked.

"[He definitely _does_ , if I have any say in the matter!]" Buneary retorted. She moved over to the little squirrel, gripped his paws and looked deep into his auburn eyes, making sure to keep a gentle gaze. "[Now, Pachirisu... what your mom and dad did was... a very grown-up thing. Something that no good kid should _ever_ do.]"

Pachirisu looked at her curiously. "[You mean... like how humans can't be trainers 'till they're old enough?]" he asked.

"[Yep, but think _way_ older. And your parents _definitely_ shouldn't have done anything like that around you. That's not only something that grown-ups shouldn't let young kids see, but it's a... really private thing. Something someone should do in secret.]"

"[So... my mom and dad should'a not shown anyone?]"

"[That's right. And on top of that, it's something you shouldn't do with just anyone, either. It's something to do with someone very special to you.]"

"[You mean like, how my mom and dad only did that with each other?]"

She smiled. "[You got it! I'm sure they love each other very much, so that's why they wanted to have so many kids. I _hope_ that's why, anyway.]"

Pachirisu gave her a thoughtful gaze. "[Huh… okay.]"

Buneary gave a happy nod. "[So do you promise not to do anything 'sexy' until you're much older?]"

Pachirisu nodded back with a smile. "[Okay, Buneary!]"

She ruffled the fur on his head with an ear. "[Good boy~]"

He hummed happily.

Pleased, she let go of his paws. She caught a glimpse of the others as she did, and noted their rather bewildered or awkward expressions.

She smiled sheepishly, but she didn't really mind, much. She wasn't the type to get embarrassed about awkward situations like this. In a way, it was to her like the water off a duck's back, rolling into an endlessly vast ocean.

That said, she paused when she spotted Pikachu, who was giving her a very peculiar look.

Sudden uncertainty clawed at her heart. Oh, crap. Had that speech of hers to Pachirisu made him think bad of her? After all, it had been very stern and not very fun or playful. Traits of hers she knew he liked to see from her.

… That said… were they? She still remembered his rather conflicting speech on why he wasn't ready to date her yet, so…

The more his unreadable gaze lingered, the more nervous and conflicted her scrambled thoughts became. Thankfully, Piplup said something to break up the silence before too long.

"[That was quite the speech, Buneary,]" he said. He huffed in amusement. "[Is this perhaps a maternal side of yours shining through?]"

Seeing an opportunity to clear the air, she grinned at him. "[Haha, um, maybe, who knows?]" she replied quickly. She winked at Pikachu and flicked her vest seductively. "[Two guesses who I'm training up the maternity for, eh?]"

Pikachu snorted amusedly and rolled his eyes. "[So much for that speech, then, huh...?]" he joked.

"[Hey, we're destined lovers, so it's okay for _us~_ ]"

"[Ohh, I'll bet...]"

She snickered. Though, when she finished, she had to hold back a sigh. She couldn't help but wonder if the amusing mask she was so fond of hid her true face a little too well. So much so, that if he were to ever see it, then…

… Oh, fuck it. She was just being cynical again. Whatever his true thoughts on her may be, she was just happy to be accepted. That is… _if_ she was.

"[Hey, Pachirisu?]" Pikachu asked suddenly. "[There's just one question I've got for ya.]"

"[Oh, yeah?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Watch out,]" Ambipom interjected, sounding amused, "[he probably wants more details on your parents bonking to help him 'fanaticize' better.]"

Most of the group, even Buizel, responded in amusement. Everyone except for the confused-looking Pachirisu and Chimchar, and the embarrassed-looking Pikachu.

"[Is… this about one of the Buneary-related questions I wasn't around to hear about?]" Chimchar asked. He cringed lightly. "[… Thankfully?]"

"[Careful, now…]" Piplup started. "[I believe that Buneary wasn't awake to hear about-]"

"[A-Anyway!]" Pikachu interrupted, his face looking as red as his cheeks. She knew that he already knew that _she_ knew, but she didn't blame him for being embarrassed, the sex-obsessed bastard. "[Pachirisu, what was your family life like, anyway?]" he continued.

"[Family life?]" the squirrel responded.

"[Yeah! Up 'til now, we've only heard about your parents doing… y'know, 'their thing'. But I wanna hear _your_ story, lil' buddy! What were things like, having so many bros and sisters? And why did you run away from home?]"

Buneary's eyes widened. Oh, that was a good point! She'd never even considered anything outside of Pachirisu's innocence being stained, like ink against a white cloth.

"[Wait, yeah, did you mean it when you said you 'ran away'?]" Chimchar asked. "[Um, as in… did you do it because you were unhappy?]"

"[Oh, yeah, yeah,]" Pachirisu responded. His ears dipped. "[I did, I did run away.]"

"[Huh? Why?]" Buizel asked.

"[ I always wanted to jump around, and play, and do other cool stuff with all my family… but they really hated it, and keeped- um, _kept_ shouting at me to calm down and stop pestering.]"

"[Aw, that sucks,]" Pikachu replied, frowning sympathetically.

"[I'll bet all that extra energy of yours just made you bounce off the walls all the more, right?]" Buizel asked.

"[Yup…]" Pachirisu replied. "[So everyone got madder and madder… but I couldn't help myself! I just wanted to play! So I tried harder and harder to get them to do stuff with me!]" He looked off to the side. "[Sometimes they shouted at me too much, though, so I got scared and zapped. … Then they got more madder.]"

"[Truly a deadly cycle…]" Piplup remarked.

"[I'll bet dinnertime was the worst, eh, kid?]" Ambipom said. "[Was back at home for me, so I'll bet you're totally no different.]"

"[Well, not really,]" Pachirisu replied, looking at her. "[Instead of having dinnertime like when Brock makes us food, we just had to go out and find it ourselves, whenever we were hungry.]" He frowned. "[Oh… but then again, everyone always shouted at me, because I kept grabbing all the best berries before they could.]" He pouted. "[I even tried letting them have berries before me… but then they ate them all, so I didn't get none.]"

Aside from huffing amusedly at the squirrel's double-negative, Buneary rubbed his back while glancing at him sadly. Such a sweet kid, and he was cursed with a sad home life like that. It was criminal.

"[Jeez… that sounded rough,]" Pikachu said, looking sympathetic. "[Is that why you left? You didn't get along with any of them at all?]"

"[Yeah…]" Pachirisu replied. "[On the last day, I tried to get cuddles from my mom, but she told me to go away, because she was about to lay the next egg. And my dad said he was trying to get 'in the mood for making more babies', so he told me to go away, too. So I got really sad, and ran and ran for a real long time. Until I met you guys, and Dawn.]"

"[Huh, definitely a good explanation for the shenanigans of that day, then…]" Piplup mumbled.

Pachirisu smiled sheepishly. "[S-Sorry… I thought I finally found people to play with!]" He frowned sadly. "[But then Dawn said she didn't want me. I thought it was gonna be like my mom and dad…]"

"[Aww, you poor thing…]" Buneary said, giving Pachirisu a hug. Wow, had she been _that_ insensitive to the little guy? All of this was news to her, and she'd prided herself on how much she cared for him.

Oh well… at least Pikachu had been there to pick up the pieces for her by asking. He was so kind and considerate…

"[Well… we're all here for ya,]" Buizel said to Pachirisu, smiling lightly. "[None of _us_ have yelled at ya, right?]"

Pachirisu angled his head towards the weasel. "[Huh? No way!]" he retorted.

"[Yeah, and that's because we appreciate you.]" Buizel looked around at the others. "[Right, guys?]"

Everyone agreed with him.

"[Looks like _we're_ you're true family, eh, Sweetie?]" Buneary said to Pachirisu with a friendly wink.

He beamed brightly. "[Hahaha, I guess so!]" He hopped up and down happily as Buneary let go of him. "[Yaaay~! Thanks, everyone~]"

"[No problem, kid,]" Buizel said, grinning pleasantly.

Chimchar smiled awkwardly. "[Just… remember to take Buneary's advice and not do what those parents of yours did, alright?]" he asked.

"[I promise!]" Pachirisu said.

"[Heh, thank Mew…]"

"[Oh, speaking of Mew…]" Pikachu started, looking in Ambipom's direction. "[Why don't you tell us about _your_ family life to lighten the mood? You said something about your dinnertimes being hectic, and now I'm curious as all heck!]"

"[Ah, _my_ turn, eh?]" Ambipom replied. She tapped her paw against her chin. "[I dunno… mine's, er… a bit weird.]" Her cheeks reddened slightly. "[Bit embarrassing, actually.]"

"[Well, that just makes me _more_ curious.]"

"[Hmm… well… alright. But it's not exactly a story that's safe for kids, so…]"

"[Perish the thought, my dear Ambipom!]" Piplup retorted. He moved over to rub Pachirisu's head. "[Our young Pachirisu's more of a big boy now than we once took him for, so I'm sure he can handle it.]"

Buneary sighed. "[True enough, whether we like it or not…]" she said with a small shrug. After the story he'd told everyone, what could be worse?

"[Yeah, yeah! I can handle it!]" Pachirisu chimed.

"[Well… sure. I'm convinced,]" Ambipom said, shrugging exaggeratedly with one arm. "[Who even knows? Maybe it'll scare you straight outta the baby-making life, Pach.]"

"[Uh oh…]" Chimchar murmured. "[This isn't going to have anything dubious, is it?]"

"[Well, I wasn't raped or whatever, if that's what you're thinking.]" She blinked and glanced at Pachirisu awkwardly. "[Er...]"

Buneary clicked her tongue. Oh, great. She'd apparently spoken too soon. It _could_ get worse...

When Pachirisu inevitably looked confused, the rabbit just shook her head. "[Better tell you, I guess, Sweetie,]" she started. "[That's when someone evil tries to make babies with someone who doesn't want to have any with _them._ ]"

"[Er, it's probably not always about ba-]" Chimchar started.

"[Let's… not complicate things,]" she replied, shaking her head. He just sheepishly dropped the issue.

"[Ohh, that sounds _terrible!_ ]" the squirrel said to her, nibbling on his tail.

She gently moved his tail away to stop him. "[Definitely, but don't worry. Just don't hang around anybody who looks too untrustworthy and don't do things you're not comfortable doing, okay?]"

"['Kay…]"

"[Don't join overly religious cults, either,]" Ambipom added. "[Word to the wise.]"

"[You were a part of one?]" Chimchar asked.

"[Pretty much! Had to get my love of Lord Mew from somewhere, am I right?]"

"[Huh, fair enough.]"

"[They, um… weren't fond of… 'dubious actions', were they?]" Piplup asked apprehensively.

"[Naw. That said, while… _that_ didn't happen, things certainly went in real awkward directions that I'm sure will go _straight_ on Pikachu's fantasy list.]"

"[H-Hey, what's that s'posed to mean?]" Pikachu retorted, face reddened.

Buizel huffed before looking back at Ambipom, an eyebrow raised. "[Awkward directions?]" he asked.

"[Y-Yeah…]" Piplup mumbled, clearly getting more worried by the second.

Buneary couldn't help but wonder about the monkey's wording, too. She was clearly not terribly affected by whatever story she was about to share, so it couldn't have been _too_ bad… but all the same.

"[Alright, well, basics first…]" Ambipom started. "[My family was super religious. Like _hyper_ religious. And we were a part of a big group of monkey pokémon, who were all devout believers of the word of Lord Mew, passed down through loads of generations, and all that jazz.]"

"[Oh, so stuff like _my_ species?]" Chimchar asked.

Ambipom chuckled and shook her head. "['Fraid not. Just us aipoms, slakoths and mankeys. Well, and that one fiery guy from Unova, I guess. Dunno what _his_ deal was.]"

"[Ah. Aww...]"

"[A-And… what sort of stuff did you, um… do? You guys…]" Piplup asked, apparently not feeling up to being grand.

Ambipom gave him a strange look. She sighed and put her paws on her hips. "[Jeez, lemmie guess. You're worried about the 'dubious thing' I talked about, ain't'cha?]" she asked.

Piplup stiffened and scrunched his beak up in a grimace. "[Well, can you blame me? You're being _very_ vague, and I'm having to prepare myself for the worst, and I _really_ don't like that! Please tell me you were okay…]"

Ambipom huffed, though she was sporting a light smile, curiously. "[Well… alright. I'll cut to the chase, just for you.]" She looked up to the sky. "[Lessie… well, we had all sorts of weird festivals. Mostly just offerings to Lord Mew, and singing choirs, and all of that sort of stuff.]" She looked back at the others. "[There was one festival in particular that, um… we called the 'Coming Of Fertility Festival.']"

Buneary and the others gave her looks with varying degrees of perturbance. Piplup's easily won out over everyone else's, though. It was comparable to the look of a lamb before the slaughter house.

"[… Uh oh,]" Pikachu muttered.

"[Yeah, I think most of you get it,]" Ambipom said. "[Basically, to build our clan up and keep our Lord Mew-loving bloodlines strong, we had to be paired off with whoever our elders found suitable. Whether we liked them or not, be damned. Though most clan members who went through with things loved Lord Mew so much that nobody could care less.]"

"[And, er… you were the exception, I take it?]" Buizel asked.

"[Heck yeah, I was! I didn't even _talk_ much to the slakoth they gave me to, before we were set to make like Pachirisu's parents and hump like there's no tomorrow.]"

"[Man…]"

"[Y-You didn't, though, right?]" Piplup asked quickly.

"[Hah, well, now it gets embarrassing…]" Ambipom started awkwardly. "[I was all _set up_ for it. See, because they had all these, um… 'stands', or whatever, made up of logs and rocks and what have you. All in neat lines, all in the same place. All us ladies were expected to lie on them, face down, butts up. No privacy. 'Specially since the elders had to watch, as witnesses for Lord Mew.]"

Buneary blinked. Huh… and she thought _she'd_ seen some weird things, before.

Piplup's face went strangely red, clearly giving away his thoughts. Though the fearful look on his face didn't leave. "[What… happened with that?]" he asked.

"[Well, _I_ was up. Me and most of my friends and family, too, I might add…]" The monkey's face started going red, too. "[Eheh… nothing beats being all naked, ass up with all your relatives either watching or getting plowed nearby. It's like something straight outta Pikachu's brain.]"

Pikachu grumbled, but didn't say anything. Buneary had a good hunch that Ambipom was bang on target with that.

"[Nothing happened, though,]" Ambipom continued. "[Matthew - the slakoth I was with - had only gotten up to the point where he was resting on top of me… before going straight to sleep.]"

Piplup let out a heavy breath and wiped his brow clean of sweat.

Buneary, however, failed to hold back a laugh. "[Pretty anti-climactic, then,]" she joked.

"[You're telling me!]" Ambipom replied. "[I damn near had a _heart attack,_ I was so nervous. I didn't want my first time with some nomad, even in Lord Mew's name. And kids? Not a chance! That's for when I'm good and settled in life, not when I just hit puberty!]"

"[Dodged a bullet, then, huh?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Yep! But because me, Matthew and a bunch of others didn't do what we were supposed to, we were all punished with food hunting. Then we saw that giant slaking robot Team Rocket fooled us with, thought it was the savior, and then yadda yadda, I ended up following Ash.]"

"[Huh, that explains a lot,]" Pikachu said. "[I always wondered what the deal with you guys was back then, and I guess I learned some stuff. Stuff I would'a never guessed.]"

"[Right you are…]" Piplup muttered. He let out a big breath and then, like magic, his usual grand demeanor returned. "[Well, it pleases me to know that nothing ghastly happened to you, Ambipom. It does the heart good.]"

"[Pfft, I'll bet,]" Ambipom replied.

"[After all, no one likes… _used_ goods, am I right?]" Buneary asked jokingly, stretching her grin.

"[That was _not_ the issue, and you know it!]" Piplup retorted, sticking his beak in the air.

"[Sure, you pervert,]" Ambipom joked, making Piplup huff.

"[Say, what made ya wanna join Ash, anyway?]" Pachirisu asked. "[If you liked Lord Mew so much that you almost made babies for him, then you must'a really liked Ash a lot.]"

"[Oh, for sure!]" she replied. "[After growing up with so many people with huge sticks up the wazoo, meeting someone like him was a breath of fresh air, lemmie tell ya. He was cool, kind and just interesting. Heh, if not a total dweeb, but I liked that, too.]"

"[Haha, heck yeah!]" Pikachu said happily. "[Then you lived life way better than you ever did in that stuffed-up place you came from, huh?]"

"[Oh, you got it! I could finally escape all the strict rules, guidelines, and all sorts of stuff I bet Lord Mew doesn't even care about, being the benevolent soul he is. I could just be my shenanigans-causing self!]"

"[Driving Ash up the wall at every given opportunity,]" Buizel remarked with a light smirk.

"[You got it!]"

Everyone chuckled merrily.

Before anyone else could say anything, though, Buneary heard hurried footsteps from behind.

Extending her ear and turning around, she saw Sudowoodo a short distance away, sprinting towards them.

Rolling her ear up, she waved to him. "[Hey, Sudowoodo!]" she called out.

The others turned around and greeted him, too.

"[He- … Hey guys…!]" the tree replied between heavy pants. He stopped and doubled over to catch his breath. "[Oh, g-gosh, I can't… believe everyone left me… behind…!]"

"[Left you behind?]" Chimchar asked. "[How'd _that_ happen?]"

"[Uh oh…]" Pikachu muttered, pointing at something. Following his finger, Buneary saw that their trainers were a pretty fair distance away. "[Same way it's happening to us, apparently!]" he continued.

"[Oh, drat,]" Ambipom said. "[Guess after Pachirisu's story, we just kinda stopped walking and didn't start again, huh?]"

"[Hard not to, after what we heard,]" Buizel said.

"[Undoubtedly,]" Piplup agreed. "[We had better pick up the pace, lest we lose our trainers.]"

"[Ohh, I don't want _that_ happening to us!]" Pachirisu said somewhat worriedly.

"[Same! It's already kinda happened to me before, and that was awful!]" Chimchar said.

"[Guess I know what to ask you about _your_ story,]" Pikachu replied jokingly. He pointed towards the trainers. "[For now, though, how about we rush off?]"

Buneary noticed that Sudowodo was still doubled over, panting, so she held a paw up to stop them. "[Oh, just a sec!]" she said. She smiled sympathetically at the young tree. "[Er… are you alright, there, Sudowoodo?]"

"[O-Oh, haha, don't worry…]" he replied tiredly, smiling reassuringly. "[Just a little… tired. I had to run a lot.]"

"[Teehee, fair enough! How about we walk back slowly, Sweetie, so you can have a chance to catch your breath?]"

He shook his head. "[N-Naw, I'm a… big, strong guy! I can… I can handle it…]"

She giggled and moved over to place her paw on his side. He was far bigger than she was, so she could only reach up to his hip. "[Hey, true as that is, I don't want you overdoing it, now.]"

"[She's right, bro,]" Ambipom added. "[Don't want you killing yourself before you're even two years old.]"

Sudowoodo exhaled in what sounded like half a heavy breath and half a sigh. Afterwards, he gave a defeated smile. "[Y-Yeah… yes please…]" he replied.

"[Good boy~]" Buneary said.

She began slowly walking forwards with him, while supporting a bit of his weight. The others followed along, keeping pace.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Originally finished:** 20/11 (November)/2019

 **Word count:** 6,790

 **VGS2's pointless notes:** Dang it… I wanted to make all these backstories one chapter, but I got carried away. XD Fak it, two parts it is! I just hope it isn't annoying you guys too much, or anything. Don't be afraid to voice your displeasure if it is (as long as you're not bitchy about it, of course. No one likes a grouch!)

Yo, by the way, big props to ravengal, who helped me with a lot of dialogue in this chappie ('specially in Pachirisu's section)! She's a real bro, so it goes without saying that you should go over to her profile and give her reviews, because reviews are like gold and orgasms to anyone who writes fanfics. As long as they're not insulting or super low effort reviews, anyway.

 **Debateable fanfic tip #7:** (Make your fic the story it wants to be! + Rant)

Y'know, I hear tell that they're delving into Pikachu's apparent backstory. Honestly, I can't say I'm best pleased, and not just because it screws with the canon of my fics (not to mention that it's fairly shit, from what I've been hearing).

First of all, it's a little bit of a kick in the nuts to all the fans over the years who have come up with interesting stuff. Not quite as much as in Friendship is Magic, what with that show introducing anti-fandom canon right near the end of its run… but it's still a bit shit.

Second, the pokémon fandom is already kind of barren of originality. Especially with the advent of 'Ash needs to become as OP as possible like in every Naruto fanfic ever' fics.

All that aside, all I can say is… screw it. Sword and Shield isn't canon anyway, if you ask me. Thinking it's canon is like admitting that the blobby six year old Ash and assholeish Pikachu from Sun and Moon are canon, or the generic hero Ash and soulless Pikachu from X & Y are canon, or - for the more salty of you out there - that the Difference-Maker-tier Ash and overly-grumpy Pikachu of Unova is canon.

It's all really unbelievable, what with the hot blooded (if not a bit dull) Ash and awkward, brotherly Pikachu of Sinnoh, or the cool, sassy, quick tempered Ash and the charmingly quirky Pikachu from the original series. How does it all add up!? I'll tell you how: it's fackin' non-canon, mate.

… Or to be more precise, it's as non-canon as **_you_** want it to be. You, the reader. And that's where my writing advice comes into play: If you're writing a fic, and something in the show you like horribly contradicts something you wanted to do… just do it anyway. You're writing a fanfiction, so no need to tiptoe around something that Jimmy Bob from the writing team randomly decided one day. Just make up your own canon, like the anime itself is so fond of doing, for no apparent reason.

Basically, all I can say is don't follow the herd wherever it goes. Make up your own goddamn wolf pack of cool bastards with its own rules and shite. If you do, you'll be on the right path to escaping the Ash betrayal-esque bullcrap that's been plaguing all of us (not that those are very canon themselves, but all the same).

… Well, unless you really like that sort of stuff, of course. In which case keep going, by all means. Don't let me end your dream!

Anyway, the **tl;dr** of it is… canon's shit, let's make our own, kek.

 **Fun mistakes of the day:** # **1:** '"[ **Far** enough,]" Buizel replied.'

(Buizel's fuckin' done walking.)

 **#2:** "[Especially since Mewtwo had done you the misdeed of killing off your **memoires** of him and the clones!]"

(Mewtwo stole Pikachu's diary and destroyed it, the bastard!)

 **#3:** 'She just loved to hear him mouth **oof**.'

(Is this that Roblox meme, or is it Bidoof from Mystery Dungeon?)

 **#4:** "[I didn't I truly was just another sheep in the herd.]"

(Piplup's angsty backstory of the time he had a stroke. Made truly amusing by Buneary's 'Nice similie' comment.)

 **#5:** "[It was on that day forth that I _,_ **too,** wished to be as amazing.]"

(I put the 'too' in the wrong place, so now Piplup had another pal who wanted to be just like Zhordos. Heaven help us all.)

 **#6:** 'He eyed up the squirtrel and stalled for a second,'

(It sounds like a mutated squirtle. No wonder Piplup was staring!)

 **#7:** "[I learned it from my mom and my dad **and my mom**.]"

(Wait… what!? O,o)

 **#8:** "[Mmmm...]" **Happint** mumbled.

(Half-pint Happiny.)

 **#9:** 'Buneary stopped rubbing the **baby's** and breathed a sigh of relief.'

(Buneary, no.)

 **#10:** "[S-Sorry... Chimchar said]"

(Reminds me of a lobotomized sunflora from one of Ri2's fics, who talked like this, died a lot and was obsessed with rape, for some reason.)

 **#11:** "[ **Kid... s-sex** is an, um... it's... ah...]"

(Without capitalisation, I've made Buizel start a very dodgy topic, indeed. Naughty Buizel! I just told Buneary off for something similar in this mistake list!)

 **#12:** "[Actually, we **a** had a _lot_ of big trees we sleeped in...]"

(Let's-a make lots of-a the babies, wahoo!)

 **#13:** 'After all, it was very stern and not very fun, like he **new** she liked.'

(Not only are their genders swapped for some reason, but I did a bad grammar! Now she likes him because he's new!)

 **#14:** 'Such a sweet kid, and he was **cured** with a sad home life like that. It was criminal.'

(Those with sad home lives have a chance of being cured of what ails them, apparently! Too bad Buneary seems to disapprove.)

 **#15:** 'Pachirisu angled towards **head** at the weasel.'

(So… he wants to give Buizel some head? O,o Guess even _this_ fic's getting some PachiBui, regardless of age and gender differences!)

 **#16:** ''Specially since the elders had to watch, as witnesses **to** Lord Mew.'

(Apparently this ritual will summon Mew, so they may witness the pervert in action, as he comes down to watch monkey fucking fucks.)

 **#17:** "[It's like something straight outta Pikachu's **brian.** ]"

(Watch yourself, Pikachu. It might die because of vehicular manslaughter and then get brought back several episodes later.)

 **#18:** 'Everyone chuckles'

(*Knuckles banned you for this post*)

 **#19:** 'or the cool, sassy, quick **tempted** Ash'

(He's the type of guy who will immediately take a devil deal in The Binding Of Isaac, regardless of his health. Lol, actually now that I joke about it, that might suit Kanto Ash. What do ya know?)

Welp, see you next time, as we learn the remaining backstories and maybe, just maybe, learn some real names! :D (Not to mention, I'll finally be finished writing fanfic tips for the other chapters!)

'Till then, tata for now! c:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Continuing!


	9. The Stories That Continued

Buneary and her friends continued with their slow walk toward their distant trainers, who hadn't seemed to have noticed they were missing, yet.

Thankfully, despite all of the trees around them, the path to Sandalstraw Town was fairly straightforward. There wasn't too much in the way of crossroads, or anything like that, so they were unlikely to lose sight of their trainers too easily. Not to mention, Team Rocket had already made like their namesake and been 'rocketed' away today, so they likely weren't a threat.

Sudowoodo - who Buneary was still trying to hold up as they moved along - seemed to have caught his breath somewhat. Still, she decided to keep helping him along, anyway. It always made her happy to help out the younger pokémon of the group. Even if this one _was_ a bit taller than most kiddies.

"[I can't believe Brock didn't notice you were missing, Sudowoodo,]" Chimchar mumbled in disbelief.

Buneary huffed. "[He's probably still too disappointed after he heard I'm not carrying Pikachu's egg, yet,]" she said, using a joking tone when she noticed how embarrassed the mouse seemed to be getting as she spoke.

"[Um, m-makes sense, I guess,]" Chimchar replied, looking rather awkward.

The mouse's cheeks grew rather red. Especially as everyone chuckled at his expense. "[H-Hey, don't tell them that, Buneary!]" he exclaimed.

"[Hah, best not!]" Ambipom agreed. "[After all, I figure it'll be true before we even get our next ribbon.]"

"[Next town, then?]" Buizel asked with an amused huff, still holding onto Happiny as he walked.

Ambipom took on a thinking posture. "[Hmmm, yeahhh, maybe that's a bit _too_ generous. Better make it sooner.]"

"[Shut your face, Ambipom!]" Pikachu said, sneaking an obscene gesture at her out of the kids' sight. She just laughed in response, along with the others.

As the merriment died down, Piplup spoke up.

"[Say, Sudowoodo? Pray tell: what were up to which delayed you so much?]" the penguin asked.

The tree started blushing really visibly. "[Ohhh, it's, um, haha… a little embarrassing, but… I saw just the _cutest_ girl of all time!]" he admitted.

"[Ooh, a cute girl, eh?]" Buneary asked, flashing him a grin.

He nodded happily. "[Yeah!]"

"[Never took you as the type to sweet talk girls,]" Buizel said. "[Must be a special one.]"

"[Ooh, yeah! Well, I don't know who she is, but I-I just wanted to talk to her, because she was so pretty, and, um… very cute.]"

"[D'aww, how adorable~]" Buneary giggled. "[Clearly, Brock raised you better than we thought, eh?]"

He tapped his branches together shyly. "[W-Well… you know, haha…]"

"[Oh, hey, were you talking to her during all our training sessions, earlier?]" Pikachu asked. "[I heard you talking to someone like a love-struck teen during Buneary and Pachirisu's match.]"

"[Haha, whoops, um, you caught me, there…]" Sudowoodo replied, bashfully rubbing the back of his head. "[I, er… I saw her, and I knew I just _had_ to talk to her, because that's what you should do with pretty girls you like, and… yeah.]"

"[Heee, oh, if only Pikachu had the same mentality…]" Buneary joked, sending a cheeky look in the mouse's direction. She earned herself an exasperated, if not amused, look in response.

"[Definitely~!]" the tree replied. "[Ohhh, I really hope she shows up again, someday…]"

"[Was she nice and kind, too?]" Pachirisu asked excitedly.

Sudowoodo paused, his face blank. "[… Er… well…]"

"[She… wasn't a bad girl, was she?]" Chimchar asked worriedly.

Sudowoodo shook his head. "[N-No, she wasn't that! But, er… she didn't talk much, I guess. She didn't even really come out of hiding. She just seemed so, _so_ shy!]"

"[Aww, too bad…]" Pachirisu said sadly.

"[Well, if she shows up again, maybe you should tell her more about yourself,]" Buizel said. "[It might help clear the air and make her open up.]"

Sudowoodo's eyes lit up. "[Oh, gosh, you think?]" he asked excitedly.

Buizel nodded. "[Yep. Maybe she'll even tell you stuff about her, too. You never know.]"

"[Ooh, okay then! Wow, thanks, Buizel, that's a _great_ idea!]"

"[Heh, don't mention it.]"

Pikachu hummed eagerly, as if something had come to mind. "[Hey, Sudowoodo, speaking of talking about yourself… all of us were talking about what we were up to, before we joined the team,]" he said.

"[Oh, that so? Cool!]" Sudowoodo replied. He pouted lightly. "[I'll bet I missed _everything_ , didn't I?]"

"[Only Piplup, Ambipom and Pachirisu,]" Buneary replied. "[Don't worry, though! I'll run you through them all at dinnertime tonight. Does that sound nice?]" Well… all the safe for kids, parts, anyway. While a little older than Pachirisu and Happiny, Sudowoodo was still really young. He didn't need to be hearing about cultural orgies or baby factories.

Sudowoodo clapped excitedly. "[Ooh, yes please~. Maybe I can even tell them to the pretty girl, if I ever see her again!]"

"[Ha, maybe~]"

"[Before that, though, why don't you tell us about yourself, Sudowoodo?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Yeah,]" Ambipom agreed. "[We've known ya since Kanto, yet we still don't have a clue what you were up to before Brock found ya. Something to do with ninjas, wasn't it?]"

"[Oh, haha, no, no, not that,]" Sudowoodo replied. "[I met everyone near a ninja school, where I was hiding.]"

"[Ahh, that brings me back…]" Pikachu mumbled nostalgically.

"[Hiding?]" Chimchar asked. "[Who from? Bad guys?}"

"[I guess you could say that!]" Sudowoodo replied.

"[ _Bad_ ninjas?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[Uh… I don't think so… Well, I mean, I guess the ninjas were scary when they thought I stole their stuff, but you know. Haha…]"

"[Who gave you such a fright, then?]" Piplup asked.

"[It was-]" Sudowoodo started. He paused. "[Well, er, I guess I may as well start from a bit earlier, actually. You see, I used to live with my mama in the wild.]"

"[Oh… no dad?]" Buizel asked.

"[Ah, no, not really… He ran away from home when I was really, really little. I don't even remember what he was, haha…]"

Buizel frowned sympathetically. "[Oh. Sorry to hear that.]"

Along with the others, Buneary murmured in agreement.

"[S'okay! That's all history, and stuff,]" Sudowoodo replied. "[But yeah, Mama looked after me, and played with me, and… I guess all the sorts of stuff that all mamas do with their babies, haha.]"

Buneary heard a quiet, sad whine from Pachirisu. Before she could say anything, though, Pikachu moved over and put the cap he'd been carrying on top of Pachirisu's tail with a wink. The squirrel giggled lightly in response.

Smiling, Buneary turned back to Sudowoodo, who seemed oblivious with a thoughtful look.

"[Hmm… I don't remember what happened, exactly…]" he started, "[but one day, I was playing near a tree or something, and then some trainer boy appeared. He didn't seem very scary at first, but he had lots of grass-typers on him, and they were _mean._ ]"

"[What happened?]" Chimchar asked nervously. "[Nothing bad, I hope.]"

Sudowoodo started to fidget. "[Oh… um… it was a _little_ bad, I guess… The trainer wanted to catch Mama, so he made his mean pokémon attack her.]"

"[Oh no, d-did she escape?]" Pachirisu asked worriedly.

Sudowoodo frowned sadly. "[No… they beat her up and took her away from me.]"

Everyone gave him various sad murmurs in response.

"[Jeez… never knew…]" Ambipom mumbled.

"[Is that why you were crying so much when we found you near the ninja school?]" Pikachu asked.

"[Well… I was a bonsly, so it was kind of expected, haha…]" Sudowoodo replied, grinning sheepishly.

"[Oh har har,]" Pikachu said with a slight chuckle. "[You know what I mean, kiddo.]"

Sudowoodo chuckled along with him. Afterwards, he sighed. "[Yeahhh, I guess I was pretty sad, and I was still really, really young, so I didn't do very well with it.]" He frowned even more sadly. "[And it was even worse when all those mean ninjas called me a weak coward. Which… well, wasn't wrong, I guess, haha.]"

Pikachu shook his head. "[Well, you weren't weak, were ya? You battled Brock, after, and did Forretress a nasty, remember?]"

"[That's only because I fought a little dirty… To be real honest, doing that probably made me look even _more_ weak, haha.]" He shook his head as well. "[B-But anyways, it didn't make me sad because it was a mean thing to hear… It reminded me of when Mama was hit _so_ hard, she went _woosh_ , right into the tree I was hiding behind.]" He shivered lightly with his branches against his chest. "[I was so scared, I couldn't move one bit… but… I wanted to try. I wanted to _try_ and help her!]"

"[D-Did you?]" Pachirisu asked worriedly.

"[No, Mama never let me…]" Sudowoodo replied sadly. "[When I started to come out, Mama said 'Don't, they'll hurt you! Stay there, it'll be alright…']" His eyes went all watery. "[And then the trainer boy caught her, so it wasn't alright at all! I just hid away 'till the trainer left, which made me feel weak and hopeless…]"

Everyone either murmured sadly again or simply frowned in a gloomy manner.

"[Gee, sorry to hear that, Sudowoodo,]" Chimchar said.

"[Aww, you poor thing…]" Buneary said. She wrapped her arms around the tree, pulling him into a hug. "[Nobody should have to see something like that happen to their mother.]" After all, she knew all about that feeling… sort of.

"[H-Hey, it's alright!]" Sudowoodo replied, brightening up. "[After that, and lots of wandering and crying, I met up with Brock! Then it was all's well that ends well, wasn't it?]"

"[Guess so!]" Ambipom said, also cheering up. "[When we were travelling through Kanto, there was never a day where you got all that sad. And I don't count those Fake Tears you had, either.]"

"[Yeah, totally!]" Pikachu added with a happy nod. "[Losing your ma to some guy, accused of stealing berries by those ninjas, and having to put up with Brock's weird flirting… and yet you pulled through, anyway!]"

"[They're right!]" Buneary praised. She stopped hugging Sudowoodo to rub him on the back. "[Look at you, you brave little soldier. Marching on, even through such sad times.]"

"[Haha, aww, you guys are making me blush!]" Sudowoodo replied, rubbing the back of his head with a big smile. "[I dunno about brave, though! Pokéballs would terrify me for the _longest_ time! And on that day at the ninja school, I was so rattled that I couldn't eat a single solid thing!]"

"[Ahh, that explains why Brock had to give you milk, then…]" Pikachu said. "[And at the time, I was thinking that you were just way too young, or something.]"

"[Oh, haha, naww… I mean, I was still a bit of a baby, but not _that_ much of a baby.]"

"[Heh, 'specially not now that you've been with us for, like… almost a year and a half, now, right?]"

"[Yup!]"

"[Well, I still think you were pretty brave, Sudowoodo,]" Chimchar said. "[I mean, I was in a similar spot, but I sure didn't cope like how you did.]"

"[Oh, thanks, Chimchar!]"

"[Right, yeah, that reminds me…]" Buizel started, looking at the monkey, "[what was all that about losing your trainer? And this thing about being in a 'similar spot'? Something happen to you, too?]"

Chimchar looked at him. "[Huh? Oh, well… I guess you could say that…]" he replied.

Pachirisu looked at the monkey in a nervous manner. "[No, p-please don't tell me some bad stuff happened to _you,_ too…]" he said.

"[Um… sorry, Pachirisu, but my story's not really the happiest, either. Like Sudowoodo's, I mean.]"

Pachirisu whined quietly in distress. "[Oh no…]"

Chimchar quickly shook his hands dismissively. "[B-But I don't think it's _as_ bad as his! I wasn't super close to my trainer, or anything!]"

"[You weren't?]"

"[Not really. I really liked her, of course, but I only knew her for a week, before...]" Chimchar started, trailing off ominously.

"[What... happened, pray tell?]" Piplup asked. "[From the sounds of things, you were forcibly removed from your trainer by something or another. Am I correct?]"

Chimchar sighed. "[Um... pretty much, yeah.]"

Reactions of shock and horror rang out amongst the group. Understandably so, too.

"[Y-You were kidnapped!?]" Buneary exclaimed, hardly believing her ear.

"[Was Paul the culprit?]" Piplup asked. "[He seems like the type to do something so heinous!]"

"[Sad, but true,]" Pikachu agreed.

"[No, he's... not the one who did it,]" Chimchar replied. "[He's a... Well, no offense to him, but yeah, he's a big jerk, sure... but he's not evil, or a thief, or anything like that.]" He paused. "[... Maybe.]"

Pikachu huffed. "[Pretty big 'maybe', at that...]" he joked.

"[Hehe, um, maybe.]"

"[Hey, Chimchar...]" Buizel started, "[why don't you just tell us the whole story? Starting from when you got your trainer.]"

Chimchar let out a breath. "[Okay... well, I come from the Hearthome breeding center down in, well, Hearthome. From there, I was paired off with my old trainer, Ingrid.]"

"[Is she nice?]" Pachirisu asked.

Chimchar nodded. "[She _was,_ but... she was very... quiet. I think she got nervous easily.]"

Buneary smiled. "[I'll bet you two got along pretty well, then, huh? You're the type to be happiest around people who aren't rambunctious. Well, _too_ rambunctious,]" she said.

"[Yeah, I suppose so!]" He scratched his head. "[We didn't get to do much, though... She was so shy that we didn't even leave her town until the day someone took me. Her town that _wasn't_ in Hearthome, that is. In fact, when we got out of the town, she was sort of bullied into doing a pokémon battle, so I get the feeling we would have run straight back to town, after that.]"

"[Hmm, makes sense. It sounded like she needed someone to kick her into gear, but, um...]" She took a pause to think about how to politely phrase things, without implying that he was kind of cowardly, "[you... like going with the flow, don't you? Following as others take the lead, when she needed someone to lead _her_.]"

"[Huh? Well... I guess so.]"

"[It is much like me with my trainer,]" Piplup said. He puffed out his chest. "[Without a strong-willed pokémon to begin with, such as me... Dawn would have _never_ gained the confidence necessary to stop whining and go on her adventure!]"

Buizel huffed. "[Strong-willed? More like stubborn,]" he snarked.

Piplup frowned at him. "[Hmph! I see the pot doth have enough gall to call the kettle black,]" he sassed back. His wording gave Buneary a vague sense of pride. Had he been studying up on his Shakespearean, recently?

Buizel's eyebrow raised so much that Buneary was worried he would hurt himself. "[The... _Hell_ does that mean?]" he asked incredulously.

"[Well, translated...]" Buneary started, "[he's saying that 'for a pot painted black, it has a lot of audacity to be hypocritically accusing the kettle of being black, also'. Both being of the same kin, and... um...]"

Everyone gave her some rather funny looks as she finished, like she'd grown an extra ear.

... Oh, shit. That was too much.

The feeling of having all of their eyes boring into her left her face feeling insanely warm all of a sudden. Her insides were squirming in embarrassment, forcing her to turn her gaze away. "[Um, heh... just to, um... just to guess...]" she mumbled. She moved away from Sudowoodo, grabbed at her fluff and pulled it up to her face.

Peeking over the top of her fluff, she saw Pikachu tilting his head. After a short while, he grinned and glanced at Buizel. "[... Pfft. They're right, y'know. You're more stubborn than Piplup _ever_ was,]" he said.

"[Absolutely! Buneary said it best,]" Piplup agreed.

"[Oh, knock it off,]" Buizel growled, frowning. "[I'm not stubborn...]"

"[Hey, if you're not stubborn, then I ain't a monkey, either,]" Ambipom joked, prodding him with a hand from one of her tails.

"[Shut up,]" he grumbled.

Him aside, everyone gave a generally amused response. That is, except for Buneary, who just sighed lightly in relief and let go of her fluff. Wow, she was really letting herself slip today, wasn't she? She had to be more careful, lest her embarrassing secret be known by everyone.

"[So, er... what happened, again, Chimchar?]" Sudowoodo asked. "[When did the attackers, um... attack? Haha...]"

"[Hehe, well...]" Chimchar started. He scratched his chin. "[Hm... well, it was a bit weird, actually. I was fighting someone and their drifloon... and the balloon thing had hit me with a Rollout attack.]" He took a slight, sharp breath. "[Um, and by 'fighting someone', I mean the boy who challenged _my_ trainer.]"

"[Did you faint a little?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[No... but I think Blaze started up. That is, the adrenaline from being hurt so much made my fire burn _way_ fiercer.]"

"[Oh, we all know about _that,_ ]" Pikachu remarked. "[You always end up losing it whenever that happens and going on a rampage.]"

"[Eheh, yeah, I guess, but...]"

"[Aha! With that knowledge, I see where this story is going, now!]" Piplup said. "[After Blaze's activation, the boy saw your potential, stole you away, and you have been on the run, ever since!]"

Chimchar waved his hands dismissively. "[No, that's not... quite it.]" He looked at Pikachu. "[Um, first of all, Pikachu... Blaze didn't used to make me go that way. All crazy, I mean. It's something that started after the... kidnapping.]"

"[Huh...]" Pikachu muttered, looking intrigued.

The monkey looked at Piplup. "[And, Piplup... it wasn't him who stole me. I don't think so, anyway.]"

"[Then... who did?]" Pachirisu asked.

"[As soon as my ability went off, I heard a loud noise nearby, like a plane, or something... and then... everything went black.]"

"[... You fell asleep?]"

Chimchar shrugged. "[I... don't think I was. Er, I mean, did. It just felt like I was... there. Except, I couldn't move, or see, or breathe, or... anything. It was so weird. Not to mention _very_ scary.]"

Everyone murmured in concern.

"[You... You know...]" Pikachu started, frowning, "[I think... I felt that way, when I was hit by a laser from that evil Hunter J woman.]"

Everyone either gasped or grunted in surprise.

"[Jeez, y'mean that really high tech pokémon collector? With that spaceship thing of hers?]" Ambipom asked.

"[The one who turned people all stone-like?]" Pachirisu asked, nibbling on his tail as he walked.

"[That's her,]" he replied. "[She hit _me_ with her beam, and I remember feeling, just... like a statue would, I guess. Freaking awful.]"

"[Oh, jeez, I remember that,]" Ambipom said. "[When she stole you and flew away on that dragon of hers… Man, I'm glad I didn't see Ash's face. Not a big fan of trauma.]"

Oh, God… Buneary remembered that, too. She hadn't been out of her pokéball at the time, but she'd still seen it from within. She'd damn near broke out herself to help him, but she'd stayed put, seeing that the humans had come up with a plan.

She'd never been able to get a good look at the hunter's face, though, no thanks to the goggles hiding her eyes. Her hair, though… she remembered a shiver going down her spine at it.

"[Hey, that bitch caused us more problems these past few months, too, right?]" Buizel asked, apparently not remembering that Pachirisu and Sudowoodo were present, much to Buneary's chagrin. "[Caused a huge forest fire, last time we saw her. Had to help Ash get out of it with some water.]"

"[Oh, m-man, I remember that, too!]" Chimchar exclaimed. "[If I didn't have Dig, we would've been _done_ for!]"

"[ _We_ would've been, not you!]" Pikachu corrected in amusement. "[You have fire coming outta your butt, for crying out loud.]"

"[Well… you know what I mean! B-But yeah… that woman really was bad news, from what I remember, so maybe she _did_ freeze me. Never got to see her face for myself when I was stolen away, though.]"

Pikachu let out a breath. "[Sounds like it. God, how did you get away?]"

"[Well… I dunno. The stone thing I was in burst apart, and then I could move, again. I think it might've been my Blaze, or something. Y'know, because it was active when I got stoned.]"

Buneary and several others huffed amusedly at his choice of wording, though Chimchar didn't seem to notice.

"[And then you ran away?]" Pachirisu asked, also oblivious to his wording.

"[Yeah, and not a moment too soon! But… after that, whenever Blaze went off, I… well, it didn't work properly again. Blaze, that is.]"

"[Aww. Sounds like it didn't do you any favors, did it?]" Buneary asked. "[I've heard of moves and special abilities that don't work right anymore. Like when you're… depressed, or I guess when they're used at _just_ the wrong time.]"

"[Like… when you're turned to stone,]" Buizel added. "[Makes enough sense. Might even be based on some kind of trauma.]"

"[Ohhh, that stupid Hunter J…]" Chimchar said, frowning in irritation. "[If it wasn't for her, my Blaze would still be okay…]"

"[Hey, don't worry, Chimchar,]" Buneary said. She hopped over a branch before continuing. "[You've been getting better at keeping it under control, lately, haven't you? I don't think it'll take long before you're back in full swing!]"

"[I hope so… Thanks,]" he replied with a light smile.

"[Um, oh yeah…]" Sudowoodo started, treading over the same branch Buneary had jumped over. "[There were, um… zangeese chasing you before Paul had you, weren't there? What was that about, again?]"

"[Pfft! Those were some funny-looking birds,]" Buneary joked. "[I don't think there's any rules with pluralizing a pokémon's name, like with a goose group.]"

"[Oh… haha, whoops,]" he replied, rubbing the back of his head out of embarrassment.

Also chuckling, Chimchar shook his head. "[Yeah, a few were chasing me. A few zangoose. They belonged to one of Hunter J's henchmen, I think. They chased me for hours, until I stumbled down a cliff out of panic,]" he said.

Buneary stalled after hearing that. "[Chased… until tumbling down a cliff, huh?]" she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"[That's right. I guess they stopped chasing me, because they thought I'd died, or something. It made me _so_ scared of zangoose, after, though. It wasn't until I fought them again that I managed to keep my fear in check.]" He paused. "[… Slightly.]"

"[Fought them again…?]" Piplup mumbled.

"[Ahh, wait, lemmie guess…]" Ambipom started, "[those schmucks from when you joined Ash were the same zangooses, weren't they?]"

"[Oh, yeah, they were!]" Chimchar confirmed. "[I don't know how they tracked me so far, but…]"

Buizel exhaled through his nose. "[I guess Hunter J's henchmen must've been in the…]" he started. However, Buneary's attention drifted.

In fact, she entirely lost focus on the conversation, as Chimchar's earlier words kept ringing in her mind. Tumbling down a cliff, due to being chased…

That… resonated with her, somewhat. A cursed relic from the past, dislodged from the recesses of her subconscious…

It brought to mind a mix of colors. Amongst the many greens and blues of the environment, she had seen browns of many shades… Cream covering them… Those were familiar. Comforting. However, those colors were mixed with ones that had brought fear to her very soul. Silver. Blue. Red. A lot of red.

Sounds had been everywhere. Loud. Confusing. Chilling.

At the time, all of this information had whirled around her in a cacophony that her very young mind hadn't been able to comprehend. But… there was _one_ thing she remembered.

The sensation of… flying.

And afterwards, tears that wouldn't end.

"[Hey, Buneary… you okay?]" Pikachu asked.

Startled, she snapped her head in his direction. Upon seeing his concerned face, as well as everybody else's, she smiled sheepishly. Whoops… she must've been spacing out pretty badly. "[Er… y-yeah, sorry!]" she replied quickly.

"[That was quite the pained look you were sporting, my ally,]" Piplup said. "[Did… something trouble you?]"

"[Uh oh, it wasn't my story, was it?]" Chimchar asked worriedly. "[I mean, some bad stuff did happen in it, so… yeah.]"

Buneary immediately shook her paws in denial. "[N-No, no, no, sorry!]" she said quickly. "[I was just… um…]" She paused. She tried to smile brightly. "[… Thinking about what story _I'm_ going to be telling. There's just two of us left, after all~]"

"[Oh, yeah, guess that makes sense,]" Pikachu replied, his look of concern fading. "[Not much time to plan with just you and Buizel left!]"

"[Are… you sure you're-?]" Chimchar started, his concerned gaze towards Buneary unwavering.

"[Y-Yes, Pikachu's right!]" Buneary interjected. "[Only two tales left, so I'm getting my brain in gear!]"

"[Well… t-true…]" Chimchar relented.

Buneary quickly glanced around. Everyone else in the group seemed at ease with her answer.

She let out a breath. Honestly… she was well aware that Chimchar hadn't fallen for her bullshit, but she didn't want to bring down the group's mood, so she was happy to play coy and ignore his concern. Her problems didn't matter, anyway.

"[Sooo, who's gonna go first?]" Sudowoodo asked.

"[I nominate Buizel,]" Piplup piped in. "[His obsession with fishing lines has baffled me for far too long, so I _must_ have answers!]"

Ambipom snickered. "[I'll bet you're just wanting to save Buneary's 'till last, 'cos you think it'll be hot,]" she joked.

Piplup huffed and put his flippers to his hips. "[Those are _your_ words, not _mine._ ]" He paused for a moment before glancing over at Buneary. "[… Though with that said, how hot _is_ your backstory?]"

Buneary giggled. "[Sorry to disappoint, but there's _nothing_ to report!]" she joked.

A look of disappointment crossed Piplup's face, but it went away just as quickly. "[Well, good! I do not wish for Pikachu to be a cuckold, or anything of that ilk, now.]"

She saw Pikachu roll his eyes at the penguin, in what she assumed was part exasperation, part amusement. He was rather hard to read sometimes, though, so she could only guess.

That thought caused many others to start manifesting in her mind, so she drowned them out by flushing them from her brain. Aghh, why had she listened in on those questions to Pikachu about her? They'd been messing with her mind all afternoon.

Wanting a serious relationship with her… but also liking her sexy, playful side? How was she supposed to take that, exactly? She honestly didn't know…

In fact, she was practically at an impasse, wasn't she? She either kept up her fun persona, making him think that she wasn't serious, or she let Pikachu see the _other_ side of her, which would… make things awkward instantly, she just knew…

… Oh, shit, she'd told herself she wouldn't lose herself in her thoughts, and yet here she was, mentally trapped in her own goddamn maze. Again.

Thankfully, before her mind could run itself in any more circles, she noticed that Buizel had started speaking. Honestly, she hadn't been lying, earlier. She didn't exactly know what she was going to say about her days back at home, so she was happy to go last.

"[Right… well…]" Buizel started. He grit his teeth. "[Ugh, I dunno… it's angsty.]"

"[Angsty?]" Pachirisu asked with a tilted head.

"[He means sad, but hey,]" Pikachu replied, "[can't be any more angsty than Chimchar's and Sudowoodo's, can it? You'd need something _big_ to top them!]"

Buizel huffed. "[Well… you asked for it,]" he mumbled. His gaze turned downwards, towards Happiny's sleeping form in his arms. "[Hmm… well… I used to live around a beach, I guess I should start with. Lived with my parents and some family friends of theirs nearby.]"

"[A beach?]" Pikachu asked, sounding confused. "[We found you in some place with waterfalls and rocks and stuff, man.]"

"[Well, I moved, obviously.]"

"[Haven't seen many beaches in Sinnoh, so no kiddin',]" Ambipom replied.

"[We were at a beach when we saw that creepy phione…]" Pachirisu replied. "[Was that where you came from?]"

Buizel shook his head. "[Nope. Place I lived had no cities nearby,]" he replied. "[To be honest, I was thinking about moving somewhere dry, but… well, I didn't like it, so I ended up going to somewhere with water, after all.]"

"[Well, you are an otter,]" Chimchar said. "[Otters need water, don't they?]"

Buizel huffed. "[Helps.]"

"[No way… an otter!?]" Pikachu replied, eyes wide. "[I thought you were a fricken' weasel!]"

Buneary grinned in amusement. "[Me too, honestly. Doesn't help that, in English, 'buizel' kind of sounds like someone jammed 'buoy' and 'weasel' together,]" she said.

Sudowoodo gasped loudly. "[Wooow, haha, you're right! That's mind blowing!]" he gasped.

She giggled. "[Well, a lot of us are the same. I'm a bunny with ears, Ambipom is 'ambidextrous', and 'palm', Chimchar is 'chimp' and 'charred', and Happiny's name has 'happy' and 'teeny' mashed together.]"

"[Sounds about right,]" Piplup responded. "[To add to that, I believe that _my_ species name goes from 'tiny splash,' to 'prince splash' to 'emperor'… um… 'Napoleon'?]" He rubbed the back of his head. "[I am not sure about that one, but that is what the silly penguin under Barry's wing told me. Not quite sure if I believe him.]"

"[Huh… weird, that, but okay, then,]" Buneary replied, a bit confused. She smiled at Sudowoodo. "[Oh, and you, Sudowoodo… your name is 'pseudo' and 'wood'. Which is another way of saying you're a pretend tree!]"

He gasped even louder. "[Wow, wow, _wow! I never knew!]"_ He began to blush, a dreamy look following soon after. "[Oooh, I've _got_ to tell that cute girl about that! I'll bet she'll be so impressed!]"

"[What does _my_ name mean? And Pikachu's?]" Pachirisu asked, looking excited.

Buneary frowned in thought. "[… Er… good question. I'll, um… get back to you on that,]" she replied.

His excitement deflated. "[Aww, okay…]"

Buizel huffed. "[To think there's something about Pikachu that you don't know about…]" he said amusedly.

"[Hey, just because I know how hot he is, doesn't mean that I'm a scientist on his kind,]" Buneary retorted.

After a brief look of amusement, Pikachu shot her a rather dumbfounded look. "[Huh… you say all that, but doesn't pikachu mean 'mouse kisser' in French? S'what Squirtle said,]" he said.

Buneary broke out into a fit of giggles. "[M-Mouse kisser!?]" she exclaimed. Everyone else responded in amusement, too.

"[A mouse kisser…]" Ambipom chuckled out. "[Well, I think we found Buneary's real name, everyone!]"

"[H-Huh?]" Pikachu replied, red-faced from embarrassment but frowning as if confused.

Buizel shook his head exasperatedly. "[Pikachu, can you hear the dumb stuff coming out of your mouth right now?]" he sassed.

"[What?]" Pikachu retorted defensively. "[It's not _my_ fault my species got called that!]"

"[Um… I think your friend, Squirtle, was teasing you,]" Chimchar said sheepishly.

Pikachu blinked. "[… _Really?_ ]"

"[Um, yeah… I mean… your species don't kiss so much that they're known for it, do they?]"

Pikachu's face went even more red. "[Well…]" He sighed and slumped. "[Oh, goddamn it, no wonder he frigging laughed, afterwards…]" He cringed. "[That's six years of embarrassing myself, then.]"

"[Six years of being a mouse kisser. My lord…]" Piplup said, chuckling along with the others again. "[Well, I think it is safe to say that today is the last day.]"

Pikachu gave a firm nod. "[Better believe it!]"

Buneary winked at the mouse. "[Hey, don't speak _too_ soon…! Like Ambipom said, _I'll_ help you make that name mean something~]" she joked. She made a kissy face at him.

"[… We'll see,]" Pikachu replied, rolling his eyes with a light grin.

Seeing that grin lifted Buneary's spirits. It was nice to know that, as naïve as he was, he didn't seem to take her comments _too_ seriously. Even when she worried about overstepping her boundaries, he never seemed to mind any more than a roll of the eyes and his usual grin.

"[Oooh…!]" Sudowoodo piped in, interrupting her thoughts. "[You know what I just thought of, when Ambipom said that 'real name' thing? I'll bet all you guys have names that aren't just… 'Ambipom' and 'Buizel' and stuff, don't you? Like… Brock's, Dawn's and Ash's names!]"

"[Oh yeah, good point, good point!]" Pachirisu chimed excitedly. "[Like… Like Ambipom's old friend, Matthew!]" He turned to face the monkey. "[Do you have a name like Matthew's?]"

Ambipom frowned in an unsure manner. "[Well… I guess, but… kinda of an embarrassing thing to put me on the spot, with, eh?]" he replied. "['Sides, Buizel still owes us a story!]"

"[Honestly, I wouldn't object to delaying it a bit,]" Buizel responded, shrugging. "[My story might kill the mood like Pikachu's story with Latios, anyway, so I'm up for something like this.]" He gave a flick of the head, as if to refer to himself. "[Back at home, they called me Max.]"

"[Ooh, Max, huh?]" Buneary replied. "[Such a big, strong _powerful_ kinda name!]"

Pikachu, Ambipom and Sudowoodo all sniggered or chuckled at once, seemingly in response to hearing his name.

Buizel… Well, _Max_ frowned at them. "[What's so funny?]" he asked.

"[Looking mighty furry since we last saw ya, Max,]" Pikachu joked, nearly stumbling on a small ditch in the road in his amusement.

"[Wonder if he's got his nerdy glasses and pokédex brain stashed away, somewhere,]" Ambipom also joked.

"[Hah, that must be it! So obsessed with pokémon trivia that he turned into one!]"

He, Ambipom and Sudowoodo chuckled immaturely.

Along with the others, Buneary stared at the two jokers in confusion. Wha…?

"[… Are you numbskulls making fun of me?]" Max said with a grumpy huff.

"[Max was a friend of our trainers in Kanto,]" Sudowoodo explained. "[He was the little brother of May! The contest girl we saw last year!]"

Buneary's eyes lit up at that name. "[Oh yeah, her! The smart one who recognized the true love between me and Pikachu?]" she asked.

Pikachu clicked his tongue with a small smirk. "[Something like that, yeah. Both her and Max are related to Hoenn's normal-type gym leader, Norman Ordern, too,]" he replied.

She huffed amusedly. "[So… a normal-type trainer called 'Normal Ordinary', huh?]"

He paused for a second before laughing. "[Hey, never noticed that! I guess him owning that gym must've been fate, or something.]"

Chimchar looked rather excited. "[Ooh, I'll bet that May and Max are both _really_ good trainers, then! Being related to a gym leader, 'n' all,]" he replied. "[I wouldn't mind a proper battle!]"

"[Same. As long as it's not a contest, anyway,]" Max replied. He pointed at Pikachu and Ambipom. "[Anyway, you two, if you're done comparing me to a frigging bookworm, then gimmie _your_ names.]"

Pikachu smiled sheepishly. "[Wish I could. Don't remember,]" he replied.

"[Oh… yeah. Sorry.]"

"[S'alright. I'll have to make one up for ya! Let's see…]" Pikachu looked thoughtful.

"[Hunk~]" Buneary joked.

"[Mouse Kisser,]" Ambipom said with a snicker.

"[… Gall Able,]" Buizel huffed out amusedly.

"[Fantasy Lord!]" Piplup laughed out.

Amongst everyone's laughter, Pikachu frowned dryly at them. "[… No, shut up,]" he mumbled. He looked thoughtful again before nodding. "[Okay, I've got it. My name… is…]" He grinned in a macho manner. "[… Ryder!]"

Just about everyone, except for Piplup, laughed at him.

The mouse immediately deflated, seeming very embarrassed indeed.

"[There's no way in Hell you deserve a name _that_ cool,]" Ambipom replied.

"[H-Hey!]" Pikachu retorted.

"['Fraid she's right. That's, er… not the name I'd give ya,]" Buneary said.

"[Even you…?]" he grumbled.

"[That name reminds me of a super spy I saw on TV, once!]" Pachirisu chimed. "[He was super cool and rough and all the girls liked him a whole lot.]"

"[Opposite of Pikachu, then,]" Buizel mumbled. "[Save for just _one_ girl, I guess.]"

"[Son of a…]" Pikachu started before huffing loudly. "[You guys don't know what you're talking about.]"

"[I quite like it, if it is any consolation! I do not know what is so funny about it,]" Piplup said. "[A more boyish name would suit you better, I suppose, but all the same.]"

"[Thanks, I guess…]" Pikachu sighed. "[I guess I'll stick to 'Pikachu' for now, then, whatever.]"

After calming down from her amusement, Ambipom spoke up. "[After _that,_ I guess my name won't sound so embarrassing.]" She pointed at herself with both the hands on her tails. "[Name's Abigail!]"

Max huffed amusedly. "[Abigail the ambipom… Appropriate,]" he said.

"[Sounds strangely religious, my dear Ambi-]" Piplup started before pausing. "[Um… Aber- … What was that, again? A bit tricky.]"

"[Got that right, first of all,]" Abigail replied. "[I think a lot of us had names that sounded like they came right outta some human's religion. And yeah, second, that's 'Ah-big-ale'.]"

"[Oh, right you are, then, my dear 'Abigail'.]"

"[How's about you?]" Abigail asked Piplup.

The penguin stared at her. He began to sweat. "[Oh… yeah, um…]"

"[I bet yours'll be just as big and grand as you are, huh?]" Pachirisu added.

"[That's… um…]"

Buneary caught on to how hesitant the penguin was acting and grinned. "[Ooh, let me guess… an _embarrassing_ name?]" she said, even though she was sure that _hers_ was just as, if not _more_ , embarrassing…

"[… Yeah, it's… um…]" Piplup cleared his throat. "[My name! Yes! My name! It is…! B-…]" He broke off into quiet mumbles.

"[… I didn't hear,]" Sudowoodo said.

"[Yeah, care to repeat, bud?]" Pikachu said.

"[O-Of course!]" Piplup replied. "[It is…]" He mumbled again, more quietly than before.

"[Yo, don't be a prude! Tell us, already!]" Abigail chided.

"[Okay, it's _Bob!_ My name's… _Bob,_ ]" Piplup responded, holding his beak up high.

Buneary had to try her hardest to hold back a laugh, though she ultimately failed. Bob… Oh lord, she hadn't expected _that_ one!

The others laughed along or looked surprised.

"[ _Pffft! Bob!_ ]" Pikachu said, cracking up. "[It's _Bob!_ ]"

"[Sh-Shut up!]" Pip- … um… _Bob_ retorted, flailing around angrily. "[Cease and desist your bullshit!]"

"[Hey, language around the kids there… pfft… _Bob,_ ]" Buneary said, giggling too hard to be all that annoyed.

"[ _Sorry!_ ]" Bob said loudly, clearly annoyed.

Max huffed amusedly. "[I'll bet that's one of the things that made you feel boring back in the day, right, Bob?]" the otter said. "[That's the most common name I could ever think of.]"

"[ _Yes,_ as it turns out. However, while it may have suited me in the past…]" He put a flipper to his chest, "[in the present day, it ill suits someone as grand as _I!_ ]"

"[No kidding…]" Chimchar said. He scratched his head. "[Well… I think it's… okay?]"

"[Kinda cute,]" Abigail agreed, shrugging lightly.

Piplup blew out a quick raspberry. "[I appreciate the flattery, but I know that is a load of bull… er… you know,]" he replied with a brief glance at the kids.

"[Hey, think what you want, Bobby. I know a good name when I see one,]" she replied, smiling. The penguin flinched lightly at the name, looking embarrassed.

"[Y'know…]" Buneary started, "[I think 'Bob' is short for 'Robert', which can be made even fancier with 'Roberto'.]"

Bob's eyes immediately lit up at that. He gave a very grand nod. "[Yes! It is settled, then! My one, _true_ name shall be _Roberto the piplup! Grandest of the grand!_ ]" he proclaimed.

"[Okay, Bob,]" Pikachu said with a smirk.

"[ _Shut the Hell up, you!_ ]" Roberto retorted, smacking Pikachu on the head with his flipper multiple times. Not very hard, from the looks of things, but hard enough to make Pikachu yelp.

The mouse cowered from the assault. "[ _Ah, ouch-ch-ch!_ I was just kidding, Rob! Q-Quit killing me!]"

"[Alright, alright, break it up before you break _him,_ ]" Abigail said, pushing Roberto away with a hand on one of her tails. Pikachu gave a sigh of relief in response. "[Anyway, who's next?]"

"[Me? I guess?]" Chimchar responded. "[I'm just Rod. Nothing too special, or anything.]"

"[Rod right after Rob, huh?]" Max said.

"[Ohh, I hope I remember okay,]" Pachirisu said worriedly.

"[If you just say 'Roberto' for Piplup, I'm sure you'll be alright,]" Rod replied. The monkey carefully stepped over a few pebbles . "[I, um… don't think anybody will get too mad if you just use our species names, instead, though. Like Piplup and Chimchar, and that sorta stuff.]"

"[Okay…]"

"[What's your name, Little Buddy?]" Pikachu asked the squirrel with a smile.

"[Who, me?]" Pachirisu asked. "[Um…]"

"[It's okay if you don't have a name,]" Buneary said reassuringly. "[After all, you had _lots_ of siblings, so I'm sure your mom and dad didn't have much time to name everyone, did they?]"

"[Well… they did, but it's a little weird.]"

"[After Bob and what Pikachu tried naming himself with, I think we've reached the limit on funny names, kid,]" Abigail said, grinning.

"[Hey!]" Pikachu and Roberto shouted at the same time, making the monkey chuckle impishly.

Pachirisu giggled. "[Well… okay! We all had names that were all like… numbers. Our numbers. So… I got the name 'Forsev'.]"

A little bit of laughter rang out amongst the group, though more subdued than before. Probably as to avoid hurting his feelings. Now, there was a name Buneary hadn't expected. Frigging Forsev… God, the kid's parents just hadn't cared at all, had they?

"[That's, er… quite a name,]" Pikachu said, clearly holding back a laugh. "[Makes you sound like an edgy super villain!]"

"[Forsev the evil squirrel lord, haha!]" Sudowoodo joked. "[It's pretty cool!]"

"[Now _that_ is a name more befitting me!]" Roberto said. "[Oh, if only we could swap…]"

Pachirisu giggled. ... Er, that is… 'Forsev' giggled. A name Buneary wasn't sure she could get used to, easily. "[Um… sorry, Pip- I mean, Roberto,]" the squirrel replied. He turned to face Sudowoodo. "[And I guess you're right, Sudowoodo! It is kinda like some villain's name!]"

Buneary giggled along with him. "[Thankfully we know better, eh?]" she said.

"[Teehee, yeah! I'm just super glad that I didn't get Tweneight, Thirt, or… um, the other Thirt. I got the cool one, instead of the sillier ones!]"

"[Haha, you sure did, Little Buddy!]" Pikachu said, moving over to ruffle the fur on his head.

Everyone enjoyed the charming air for a short while, until Sudowoodo piped up.

"[And now… it's my turn~]" the tree chimed.

Buneary gulped. Oh, no… After him, it was her turn. She couldn't say she was looking forward to it. It was a dark cloud looming in the distance that promised rain…

… Okay, perhaps it wasn't _that_ bad, but still. Nothing like her past, anyway, which she also wasn't looking forward to talking about.

Trying to put that out of her mind, she smiled. "[Um, seems so! What did your mama call you?]" she asked.

He beamed. "[Lyon~! My mama called me that 'cos it sounds sort of like… the 'sly' in bon _sly_ , haha!]"

"[D'aww, how cute~]" she cooed.

"[I guess you could even call it sly of her,]" Abigail joked.

Lyon laughed. "[Yeah, I guess so!]" he said.

"[Hey, make sure you tell that girl you like what your name is, too, right?]" Max said. "[Maybe she'll tell you hers, if she has one.]"

Lyon's eyes widened. "[Ooh, you're right! I'm _definitely_ gonna do that now! Haha, thanks, Buizel- Max. Max Buizel, haha.]"

"[Heh, don't mention it, 'Lyon Sudowoodo'.]"

Forsev tilted his head. "[Wait… why did we all go by our species names, anyway?]" he asked.

"[Why did _you?_ ]" Pikachu asked with a small grin.

The squirrel's head jerked back, as if not expecting the question. "[Oh, um… I got all embarrassed, 'cos it's a bit weird…]"

"[Heh, well, that's probably your answer, then.]"

"[Not me,]" Rod interjected. "[I just went along with it, when everyone was calling me Chimchar!]"

"[Oh… makes sense,]" Pikachu replied, giving him a look of slight surprise. "[Well… alright, yeah. Either most mons get embarrassed, or they just got used to the humans' names, I guess. Or you're me, and you don't have one. Whatever works.]"

"[Well… okay!]" Forsev replied.

Hm, it was a good point, really. Buneary had thought of herself as 'Buneary' for so long, now, that it would feel weird being called anything else. Especially…

She took a breath. Well, speaking of being embarrassed by names… "[Guess… it's my turn, then, huh?]" she asked, trying not to let her voice crack out of anxiety.

Everyone perked up. Pikachu especially, she noted. "[Oh yeah, yours!]" he said, sounding rather excited.

"[Yeah…]" she replied, "[… mine. Um…]" She grinned. "[Well… what do _you_ think it is~?]"

"[Well… I'll bet it's something like 'Kirsty', 'Kim', or… 'Becky', or something,]" Abigail said, kicking a twig out of her way as she walked. "[Those just suit ya, somehow.]"

"[Teehee, maybe~]"

"[Ohhh no, you don't, my ally!]" Roberto said, frowning at her. "[If _I_ had to say _my_ name aloud, then so do you! No matter _how_ embarrassing!]" He crossed his arms. "[It is common courtesy.]"

"[Um… heehee, I guess so!]" Drat…

"[So what is it, what is it?]" Forsev asked excitedly.

She took a deep breath. "[My… My name is, um… er…]" She saw Pikachu's eager face and looked away. "[It's, um…]" She couldn't stop herself from nervously fidgeting with her vest. "[W-Well, you know… it's, um… not very interesting, or anything, so…]"

"[What, after Bob's?]" Max said. The penguin huffed in response.

"[Um, yeah,]" Chimchar agreed sheepishly. "[There's my name, too. Not terribly interesting at all. So yours will be okay, definitely!]"

"[Y'know, it's not like you to be so nervous, Buneary,]" Pikachu said. She could almost sense a hint of worry in his voice, but she didn't want to look.

She felt her face heat up significantly. "[Okay… sure. It's… Ophelia. My name's Ophelia,]" she muttered.

She didn't hear immediate responses to that. She would have looked to see their reactions, but her neck was cemented by nerves and her gaze held away by embarrassment.

"[… D'aww, that's so pretty~!]" Lyon said in awe, eventually. "[It's like the sort of name the cute girl would have!]"

"[Yeah…]" Pikachu murmured.

"[Um… thanks…]" Buneary mumbled, feeling her face heat up. It warmed even further when she noticed some random pokémon loitering about, hidden amongst the trees nearby. Oh, God, she hoped they weren't listening, too…

"[Well, that's… definitely _not_ what I was expecting!]" Abigail said.

"[Indeed…]" Roberto agreed. "[That is the sort of name that would have suited _me_ more! Um, though with a bit more of a masculine edge, naturally.]"

The monkey huffed amusedly. "[True that! Is it even a proper _name?_ ]"

"[It's, um…]" Buneary started. She took a deep breath, and turned towards them, stretching a smile. "[It's… a name from a Shakespeare play called Hamlet. My… grandpa was a big fan.]"

"[Shakespeare, huh? Hm…]" Pikachu mumbled. He looked like he started thinking deeply about something. She wished she could know what that 'something' was. Was he impressed? Weirded out, perhaps? Who knew?

Max gave an impressed hum. "[Pretty high class, then,]" he said.

"[No kidding,]" Abigail agreed.

"[Well… I like it!]" Forsev chimed. "[Ahfee… Owfeel…]" The squirrel frowned in thought. "[Um…]"

Despite herself, Buneary giggled. "[Uh-fee-lee-ah,]" she corrected.

Forsev beamed. "[Oh! Um… O-Ophe… Ophelia!]"

"[That's it, Forse~!]"

He beamed brighter, seemingly enjoying the little nickname she'd given him. "[Yay~]"

Buneary… no... _Ophelia_ inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Wow… the feeling of finally admitting her name. It was kind of… liberating, in a way. Especially since nobody had reacted to it as negatively as she'd predicted.

She glanced at Pikachu, who was just smiling lightly at her. She smiled back, though she wondered if his thoughts mirrored his expression, or if they were… different.

She worked hard to make sure her smile didn't leave her face. Considering that he could be having all sorts of different thoughts in his head, though, it was a little hard.

She really, really wished she could know what was going on in that mind of his.

* * *

Still walking along with everyone, Pikachu smiled at Buneary, who was smiling widely back at him. Uh, or Ophelia, even. Man, who would've guessed that she'd have such a pretty name!

He wouldn't lie… it made her seem kind of cuter than normal.

He couldn't stop thinking about that 'Shakespeare play' comment, though. It reminded him of all the… sort of pretentious things she'd been saying all day. In fact, she'd been saying pretentious things a lot this month, hadn't she? Today, though, she'd been going wild with them.

He couldn't help but wonder about it. Oh, and those embarrassed or nervous moments of hers, too. What were _those_ about?

… Oh, shit. Thinking about it, those made her seem cuter, too. That was the most womanly she'd ever felt, thinking about it. It was strangely attractive. He was starting to see what 'Abigail' had meant with that comment about the rabbit not being cute. Because of the way she was, he'd never really thought of Ophelia as a 'lady', so to speak. Just a girl with no filter. This was something new to him.

Not that it really mattered, he guessed. He enjoyed that really brash, bold personality of hers. Even if it did make it hard to tell if she was serious about wanting a proper relationship, or not. This new side of hers, though… well, he wouldn't mind seeing more of it, that was for sure.

Tsk, oh, if she knew what he was thinking right now, he'd never hear the end of it. Thank Mew and his weird tree that she wasn't a mind reader…

… Ooh, speaking of thinking… he could imagine that working in some sort of fantasy. One where she was all bashful and nervous, saying loads of really fancy stuff. Maybe before a special contest, or something, while she was planning a grand winning speech, or…

He cringed. What the hell was he even thinking about!? Now was _really_ not the time. He didn't want to pop a boner just before Max's apparently sad story. Not a chance!

Oh yeah, speaking of which… "[Hey, Max,]" he said to the weasel… otter… guy, "[now that we all know each other's names, I'd say it's time to hear your story.]"

"[Right, sure,]" Max replied. "[Well… like I said, I lived near the beach. Folks and their friends.]" He let out a breath through his nostrils. "[My… folks' friends had a kid. A bidoof. Less than a year old, I think.]"

Pikachu heard a murmur of surprise from Ophelia. Nobody else - maybe except for Rod, who looked curious - seemed to have noticed, though, so Pikachu said nothing.

"[Ooh, were you two friends?]" Forsev asked.

"[Yeah…]" Max replied. The buizel let out a long breath. "[Hell, he was… kind of like a little brother, actually. We did all sorts of stuff together.]"

"[Like training and collecting fishing lines, I presume?]" Bob asked.

Max nodded at the penguin. "[Right. I wasn't especially passionate about training back then, but we had a few small battles here and there. And he liked how fishing lines looked, so I liked stealing them to show them off.]"

"[Tsk, tsk,]" Abigail replied, sounding disapproving, yet amused. "[Stealing for no reason will get'cha some bad mojo with Lord Mew…!]"

Pikachu nearly brought up the fact that the mew he knew liked to steal toys from the town he lived near. He decided that now wasn't the time, though.

"[Hmph, well, he can bite me, then,]" Max replied. "[If it made Harry happy, then I don't care if I'm going to Hell.]"

The monkey held her paws up with a look of surprise. "[Yeesh… you and that kid must'a been true bros, then, huh?]"

Max nodded with a murmur of agreement.

"[Say, what happened to Harry?]" Lyon asked. The tree scratched the side of his head, looking curious. "[If you liked him _that_ much, it's a bit weird that you didn't bring him along to that river place you moved to and trained in, haha.]"

"[No, I didn't leave him. I…]" Max frowned sadly with another drawn-out huff. "[… Something happened to him.]"

Pikachu looked at him in concern. He noticed that the air in the group had gotten pretty tense, too. Oh no… he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear, was he?

"[What… happened to Harry?]" Forsev asked, nibbling on his tail as he walked along. Thankfully, he left Ash's hat alone, which was still sitting on one of his tail spikes.

"[Don't bite your tail and I'll tell you,]" Max chided. Once the squirrel stopped with a small apology, the buizel nodded. "[Well… what happened to him was some stupid bitc-]" He audibly inhaled, correcting himself. "[… Was some nasty woman. A frigging espeon, who'd followed me home just to steal some shiny-looking lure I found.]"

"[Did she steal it?]" Rod asked.

"[Worse…]" Max replied. "[She-]"

"[Oh! Oh no, no!]" Happiny said suddenly, now wide awake. "[Who's doing stealings!?]"

The buizel nearly dropped her in shock, but he held on. "[Er, n-no one,]" he replied after catching his breath.

"[Hello, Happiny~]" Ophelia said with a pleasant smile. Everyone joined in with some hellos of their own before the rabbit continued. "[We were talking about what our lives were like before we joined the team!]"

"[Ohh… so no steals?]" she asked.

"[Not really,]" Rod replied. "[Max- Uh, Buizel was just telling us about his friend from home, called Harry, the bidoof.]"

Happiny's face lit up. "[Ooh, a friend? A good, good friend?]"

"[Right,]" Max replied, letting Happiny down so she could start walking along with them. She stretched and merrily started to skip along. "[He was a really nice kid. A bit of a dweeb, but still nice. We did all sorts together back then…]"

"[Yayay, he was a good friend!]"

Max nodded. "[Yeah. But…]" He paused for a second, "[some foul-mouthed espeon tried stealing a lure I'd gotten for him as a gift.]" He looked off to the side. "[… I tried to stop her, obviously… but God, was she strong. Knocked me flat…]" He let out another huff. "[… Harry tried to help when he saw me get my a-… uh, butt kicked.]"

"[What did she… do to him?]" Ophelia asked, seeming a bit anxious.

"[She… snatched him out of the air with some psychic move or another, and tossed him out to sea. Saying something like 'Eff off, you stupid, ugly fish'.]"

"[Yeesh…]"

Pikachu gulped lightly. "[Well, he's probably not a fish, but he's still a water-type, so he would've been fine, right?]" he asked, worried.

Max's gaze stayed off to the side. "[Well… he _would've_ been, if he'd gotten the chance to evolve like he'd always wanted, but... that never happened.]" He paused briefly. "[He… drowned. Before I could go and save him.]"

Everyone gasped and stared at him in disbelief.

"[No… r-really!?]" Ophelia asked, shocked. "[You're kidding…]"

"[I wish…]" Max replied, looking back at the group. "[He wasn't the best at swimming, and so far out to sea… he had no chance. Nobody else was around, either, so no help from outside.]"

"[What stopped _you_ from going and saving him?]" Abigail asked.

"[I was going to, but I got blasted by that stupid, idiot fox when my back was turned. Knocked me out cold.]" He clenched a fist. "[When I woke up, Harry was dead. Floating on the water.]"

"[No, that's so awful…!]" Forsev said, sounding tearful.

"[Huh? Why's everyone gotten sad, now?]" Happiny asked, seeming confused. "['S'it that 'dead' thing?]"

"[Yeah…]" Ophelia replied. She frowned in thought. "[It's, um… like… like Latios. Do you remember?]"

"[Oh yeah! With the sacrofish… thing.]"

Buneary huffed lightly in amusement. "[That's right. The sacrifice… Well, he died, too. Remember?]"

"[Ah… and this the same?]"

"[Right. And… when someone dies…]" Max started, "[they… you can't see them anymore. They're gone.]"

"[G… Gone…?]"

"[Yeah…]" The buizel took a very deep breath. "[I couldn't bear the thought of admitting to his parents that he was dead, so I… ran. I took the coward's way out, and ran. I didn't tell his parents, or _my_ parents, or… uh, even the girl I was sort of seeing at the time. I just left.]"

Pikachu sadly looked at Max, wondering if there was anything he could say. With how silent the others were being, he could tell he probably wasn't the only one.

The first one to break the silence was Lyon, who whimpered lightly. "[Ohh, that's so depressing! I'm so sorry!]" he said, looking very teary-eyed.

"[It's okay… I've gotten over it, since,]" Max replied. "[Took me a while, hence why I kept getting more of those lures, after. Good for training and… remembrance, and all that. But I'm healing.]"

"[Pretty brave of you,]" Rod replied. The others agreed with him.

Lyon's look suddenly turned somewhat hopeful. "[Please tell me that they caught that villain, Espeon, and taught her a lesson!]" the tree asked.

"[I won't lie. I doubt it…]" Max replied, frowning while staring downwards at nothing. "[No one was around to see what happened but me, and I… well, I…]" He huffed and harshly kicked a dandelion's head, scattering seeds, "[… you know. Chickened out. 'Sides, an espeon _that_ strong must've belonged to a good trainer, so no doubt she got away scot-free.]"

Lyon and Forsev sounded close to tears at hearing that.

"[B-But that's really unfaaair!]" Forsev whined.

"[… That's the thing, I suppose…]" Ophelia started. "[Sometimes… just sometimes… life just isn't fair.]"

"[But why, though?]"

She moved over to rub him tenderly on the back. "[… Who knows? Sometimes, bad things just happen to good people. It's not fair, but it… happens.]"

"[An important lesson, sadly…]" Bob added. "[Justice is not always dealt when it should be. Hence why we have brigands like Hunter J roaming around, committing crimes as they please. Or Gabite stomping your poffin and getting away with it, sort of.]"

Forsev sniffled. "[Aww…]" he mumbled sadly.

"[That… makes sense, I guess…]" Lyon muttered, pouting in depression.

Happiny didn't say anything, though she looked like she understood that what was being said wasn't very good.

Pikachu frowned sadly. Especially at what Ophelia had said. That was a pretty depressing thing to hear, especially from _her._ She was usually so cheerful, fun and hard to take seriously. Yet here she was, saying stuff like this 'no justice' speech and all the sex ed stuff, during Forsev's story.

He looked forwards while walking, deep in thought. He noticed that the trainers were a fair distance away, now. Though the road to the next town was pretty straight, so there was not much chance of losing them in the forest. Amazingly, they hadn't seemed to have noticed the missing pokémon, yet. They must've been busy arguing, or something. Probably about using items in battle to make things more interesting, like always.

As he walked, Pikachu went over Ophelia's speech in his head a few times. When he realized that he didn't agree with her at all, he clenched a fist. "[… You know what? No! I'll make sure there's justice!]" he shouted. He frowned angrily as he pictured what that stupid espeon probably looked like. A nasty, smug bitch. "[I'll make it my life's goal to find that dumb espeon and kick her head in!]"

"[Huh? Er, why?]" Max asked, looking taken aback.

"['Cos no one messes with my friends and tries to get away with it!]"

"[… That's… appreciated, I guess,]" the buizel replied, looking something between perturbed and proud.

Ignoring that, Pikachu looked over at Rod, who looked back at him in surprise. "[Oh, and yeah, Hunter J! I'll make her go stone cold for all the nasty crap she's put you and everyone else through!]"

"[Er… th-thanks,]" Rod replied awkwardly. Pikachu was too fired up to really care, though.

He heard a murmur from Ophelia. When he looked at the rabbit, he barely noticed a wide-eyed look on her face, before it quickly shifted into a very faint grin. "[Man, I wish I could get that same heroic treatment, heh,]" she joked.

He frowned. "[Hey, of course I'd give you the same treatment! If anyone messed with you, I'd straight up send 'em to Hell, myself!]" he said, ending in a loud huff through his nostrils.

Everyone stared at him. After a short while, they looked over at Ophelia, as if interested in her response. Some looked amused, some looked excited, Happiny looked confused, Rod looked awkward and Max looked a bit exasperated.

While Pikachu looked around at all of them, he suddenly calmed down enough to realize what he'd just said, and who to. Uh oh… if this didn't earn him some teases and extreme flirting from the rabbit, he didn't know _what_ would.

While his face went hot from embarrassment, he looked directly at her, ready to combat her inevitable cheeky comment with an eye roll, or something.

His mind drew up blanks when he saw that she was looking at him in pure surprise. Way more surprise than he would've expected, anyway.

Soon after, she also surprised _him_ when she started fidgeting with her vest and glancing off to the side. Through her blush, he could see a strangely gentle smile. "[Um, well… th-thank you…]" she murmured happily.

"[No… no problem,]" he replied awkwardly. Oh… well… apparently, he actually didn't know _what_ would cause flirting, after all. Man, what was with _this_ reaction? He hadn't said anything all _that_ touching, had he?

Lord, he thought he knew this girl through and through, but it was just oddities after oddities, lately. What else was she hiding away from him?

… Eh, maybe he was just thinking about it way too hard. It _was_ just Ophelia, after all. The most fun, shameless and flirtatious rabbit in Sinnoh.

He stole a glance at the others. They mostly seemed mildly confused or disappointed. Rod, however, looked appropriately weirded out. Maybe the chimchar was just as curious as Pikachu was…

"[U-Um, anyway, yeah, about Harry, Max,]" Ophelia started up quickly, going back to normal. Pikachu briefly noticed Happiny look around in confusion, but she went otherwise unnoticed. "[… Um… maybe I'm wrong, who knows?]" The rabbit smirked. "[Maybe that espeon will get what's coming to her, yet. Hot, electrical death from a very hot mouse.]"

Though exasperated, Pikachu grinned. Yeah, that was more like it.

"[Heh… hope so,]" Max replied to her.

"[Y'know, call it corny, but… either way, I think there's already some justice,]" Abigail started. "[Wherever Harry is- no, screw that. Up in _Heaven_ , where he _better_ be, he's being looked after real nice by Lord Mew himself. Sure of it!]"

"[… I don't really believe in that sort of stuff, but… me too. Thanks,]" Max replied, smiling faintly.

"[Ya ya!]" Happiny added. "[An'… An' if there's no more Harry, I'll be a Harry for ya!]"

"[Ah, d-don't say that, jeez!]" Rod shouted flusteredly. "[That's awful!]"

She gave him a funny look. "[Whaaat? Harry's not an awful!]" She frowned at him. "[So rude, rude!]"

The monkey shook his hands defensively. "[Th-That's not what I meant at all!]"

Everyone responded with laughs and chuckles. Even Max, who was also smiling. "[Thanks, Happiny. You'll do good, I'm sure,]" he said.

"[Yay!]" Happiny replied, hopping about as she walked.

"[Do you have a happy story from before you were Brock's, Happiny?]" Forsev asked. The squirrel seemed far more chipper than he'd been earlier.

Lyon laughed. "[Forsev? She's been with us since she was born. We, um, already know it, haha,]" he said.

Forsev blinked. His face went a bit red. "[O-Oh, yeah. Whoops…]"

He got some amusement in response, but Happiny cut in before anyone could comment. "[A story? Hmm…]" she started. She beamed. "[Ya ya, my story! My story is…]" She blinked. She tapped the oval stone in her pouch a few times in thought. "[… I hatched. And then everything was all good!]" She beamed again. "[ _Yaaay!_ ]"

Everyone seemed to find that cute, and, with a charmed smile of his own, Pikachu didn't blame them. Goddamn it, that little egg was too adorable. If the mouse wasn't careful, he was going to lose all of his man points, again!

Fighting the urge to punch the ground to restore his precious testosterone, he grinned at Ophelia. "[Yo, Buneary! Well… Ophelia!]" he started. "[With all these tales of woe, I think we need some cheering up with _your_ past, now!]"

"[Ah, yes! Please enlighten us!]" Bob said.

"[Oh, um, yeah… cheering up, huh?]" Ophelia muttered, maybe out of embarrassment.

"[Yeah, yeah, your story's gonna be _great,_ Oofa- … um, Ophelia!]" Forsev sang.

"[… Ohfeefafa?]" Happiny asked. As she walked, she picked up a large fallen branch in her way and tossed it deep into the woods, like it was nothing.

Ophelia giggled and smiled at her. "[That's my name, Happiny. But you can still call me Buneary, if you want~]" she explained.

"[Oh. 'Kay!]"

Ophelia looked at the others. "[But yeah, don't you worry, everyone! I'll… I'll amuse ya with my little tale!]" She smirked confidently. "[So get yourselves ready for shenanigans~]"

Everyone looked back at her eagerly as she prepared herself. Especially Pikachu.

Whatever she was planning to talk about… he was all ears!

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED!**

* * *

**Finished:** 01/01 (January)/2020 (Happy New Year!)

**Word count:** 10,821

**VGS2's pointless notes:** And then it got too long to shove everything in, again. Sorry! D:

Never fear, though! Next chappie shall have the last backstory, plus something important. Stay tuned!

Y'know, by the way… Sudowoodo's backstory was originally going to be the backstory for the Sudowoodo from ravengal's A Gracious Gift… until she canned it for being too depressing, thus making Pikachu's look shit in comparison. Not to mention that Sudowoodo wasn't a very prominent cast member, so it was a bit too fancy for the fecker.

Thankfully, though, ravengal graciously gifted me with his tale of woe, so that it didn't have to be lost forever. Thanks, gal, for the generous donation! :D

By the way, just for reference…

Buneary - Ophelia

Piplup - Bob "Roberto"

Buizel - Max

Ambipom - Abigail

Chimchar - Rod

Pachirisu - Forsev

Sudowoodo - Lyon

Happiny - Happiny

Pikachu - ?

If you have any problems remembering who's who, then don't worry too much. Just use their species names. S'all good, man! XP

**Debateable fanfic tip #9:** (Points Of View pointers!)

Did you notice how different Pikachu's and Buneary's POVs were in this chapter? That is, Buneary's was more worried and fancy in places, whereas Pikachu's was sort of boisterous and simple-minded? That was intentional! Though I guess it goes without saying if I'm pointing it out, eh? XP

There's actually loads and loads of different ways to do POVs. It's all down to the writer, of course, but I find that some POVs work better for different kinds of fics. It's debatable, naturally, but I'll tell ya what I knows, so you can decide for yourself!

{1st person}: This is for POVs that read like some kind of diary, or something that the character in question is writing.

(Example: 'I looked into the closet and found Brock. He was huddled up inside, looking back at me timidly. 'What the heck is he doing?' I thought to myself, really confused at the weird man's hiding spot. I kept my feelings to myself, though, and just said "Hello!" to him. In response, he said, "… He's here." The ominous statement made me very scared. 'Oh, I'm screwed, aren't I?' I thought to myself. I felt pain in my rear. It was too late.)

These can be good for getting into a character's head in a simple, effective manner. It's also good for practicing with, good for slow-paced fics with lots of thinking and good for showing off personalities in a more 'personal' way!

It probably makes action scenes harder to write, but not impossible. It can also make it harder to follow who's POV the reader is following, seeing as the character will be referring to themselves as 'me' and 'I' a lot of the time. One has to also be careful they don't insert a little too much of themselves into the characters (stuff like your personality, likes and dislikes, etc), which is easier to slip into than you'd think.

{2nd person}: This is for stories that pretend _you're_ a part of the action. That is _you,_ the reader.

(Example: 'You gaze deeply into Ash Ketchum's eyes, as he chooses to date you over the copious amounts of other girls he has bonded with. "Hey… [your name]…" he murmurs, stroking your [hair color] hair and gazing into your [eye color] eyes, "… I choose you…" He bends you over and takes you from behind. You love it and scream his name, you filthy animal, you.')

Pretty much only good for fluff or lemon fics that're written to make you feel good. That said, with some skill, they can be used for an especially artsy or pretentious fic. I've also seen them used in stuff like Mystery Dungeon fics, so hey, maybe there's a market!

Obviously, though, if the fic's descriptions of 'you' are too specific, it'll take you right out of the immersion. Like, if it describes you with girl parts and you're not a girl, you're gonna feel weirded out, I'm sure. XP That's why fics of this nature tend to say that you have [hair color] hair, and not that you have ginger hair, or something like that.

{3rd person omniscient}: This is for stories that want to feel more 'visual'. That is, they read like someone is looking at a television screen and telling you what they see. This is a pretty common style, and is usually used by popular writers such as MewLover54 and PokeMaster64.

(Example: 'Dawn looked down at the robotic clone of Paul, which was sparking really fiercely, sort of like a broken toaster. 'He's finished…' Dawn said, turning around and walking away in a badass fashion, her cape billowing behind her. However, little did she know… that Paul's robotic clone was already slowly standing up. 'I'll teach you for making _me_ look like a fool…' he thought to himself, aiming his laser arm at her. He was still pretty angry that Dawn had gone super saiyan 3, and blasted him straight in the ass. What he didn't know, however, was that Dawn had already called for help, earlier. With some gunshots from behind, he fell to the bullets from the coconut gun of Ambipom, which had been fired in spurts.')

This style is really easy to work with! Especially if one wants to write action scenes, parody fics, or just likes to cover everyone's thoughts and feelings at once, without worrying about what each character knows individually. Makes digesting the fic a lot easier for readers, too.

This style can be pretty bad for mysteries, though. After all, everyone's thoughts and actions can be known at any given time. Even when other characters aren't aware of said thoughts and actions. So one has to be careful what they write, and how they write it. I've also noticed that fics written in this way more often than not can forget to make the characters unique from each other, thus making their personalities blend together. It doesn't always happen, but one has to be careful of that, too.

{3rd person freestyle}: This is a style for fics that want to delve into a character's head in detail, while still sounding narrated. I use this style, and so does ravengal! Though mine is slightly more extreme than hers, making hers the more professional one, I guess. XP

(Example: 'While Pikachu was sitting in his seat on the plane set for Alola, he felt… strange. He honestly didn't know how to describe it. What he _did_ know, however, was that he suddenly had the urge to spaz out, act like an asshole to everyone around him, imitate Ash's every action perfectly, and eat way more than he'd ever done in the past. It was so strange and kind of scary. Why did he feel this way? He was clueless! "Ash…" he said, looking up at his trainer. "I don't feel very… well?" When Pikachu looked up at Ash, he noticed a change in the guy's demeanor. He couldn't quite place his finger on what that was, though. "… Are you… okay, Ash?" he asked him. "WAHHH, WE'RE IN ALOLA!" the trainer screamed, seeming rather excited. "WAHHHBLUBLLEBALB!" He melted. Overcome by fear, Pikachu squeezed his eyes shut and screamed, blocking out the world around him. When he opened his eyes again, after Arceus only knew how long… he and Ash were champions, like they'd been once before, in the Orange Islands. The mouse blinked. How the heck had _that_ happened!?')

This is a tricky style to master, but it can lead to all sorts of interesting results when played around with! Also amazing for mysteries, though perhaps too much so, if you want people to catch onto your hints without being over the top about it. Very good for getting into a character's head, too, and getting a feel for personalities and opinions. Not to mention, it makes them very relatable, indeed… though it can lead to some readers getting especially annoyed if Character A doesn't know something that both Character B and the readers know.

It can also look pretty clunky if one tries to go for this style, but accidentally starts showing the thoughts and feelings of other characters, without making it clear that the POV changed at some point. When it happens enough times, you may as well go for a more '3rd person omniscient' sort of style. Unless the POV belongs to a mind reader, or something similar, in which case go wild, lel. I've also noticed that writing action scenes is harder than usual, too, because the character the POV is focusing on won't be able to see everything at once, will they? Just what's going on in their vision, or their hearing range. That said, one can _really_ feel the pain the battlers are going through when they're written properly, seeing as… well… it's that character's pain, isn't it?

Alright, that's all I've got for now. I hope this helps you decide what _you_ wanna play around with for your stories! :D

If it makes things seem daunting, though, then don't worry _too_ much. As you write, you'll notice that a style will just begin to naturally develop on its own, so just go for it and see what happens!

**Fun mistake of the day #1: '** Sudowoodo paused, his blank.'

(Yeah, probably a good call, honestly. Blanks are pretty valuable, if Enter The Gungeon ever taught me anything!)

**#2:** "[The **rainer** wanted to catch Mama, so he made his mean pokémon attack her.]"

(He wanted to rain on her parade. Something that sudowoodos hate, too, the bastard!)

**#3:** "[No, Mama never let me…]" **Sudowodo** replied sadly.

(Lol, that's surprisingly funny to say out loud. XD Reminds me of that one bonsly from one of the movies, which Max mistakenly called a 'bonslee'. Mostly because it kept saying that, itself, for some reason…)

**#4:** "[Well, thanks, **Chimchart!** ]"

(When one needs to study data on chims, make sure to look at the chart!)

**#5:** "[Hmph! I see the pot has the **gull** to call the kettle black,]"

("Wingull!")

**#6:** 'Had he been studying up on **Shakespeare,** recently?'

(Instead of studying up on the language, Shakespearean, Piplup has instead chosen to study the actual guy, Shakespeare. That said, I never hear anything about Shakes' history, so maybe he's doing the right thing, lol.)

**#7:** 'Her insides were squirming in embarrassment, forcing **her to gaze her turn away.** '

(She spent so long gazing at something that her turn ended. Stop being so tardy, Buneary!)

**#8:** 'so she **forcibly forced** her brain to drown them out.'

(That's an excessive use of force, I'd say.)

**#9:** '"[Shut up,]" he grumbled **, crssig hiss arms.** '

(Is Buneary falling asleep during her POV-ing? Does most of this chapter take place in her dreams?)

**#10:** '"[but I only knew her for a week, before...]" Chimchar **stared,** trailing off ominously.'

(Written like a true Mystery/Horror novel.)

**#11:** 'Except, I couldn't move, or see, or **breath,** or... anything.'

(Prevented from playing Breath Of The Wild. Such a sad, sad story.)

**#12:** Startled, **her snapped** in his direction.

(RIP. Press F to pay respects.)

**#13:** '"[Uh oh, it wasn't my story, was it?]" **Xhimchar** asked.'

(Here comes Chinese-knockoff Chimchar! I guess it makes sense, considering what Chinese legend Chimchar's species is based on. Something everyone's all too happy to reference in their fics. XP)

**#14:** 'Buneary immediately shook her paws in **denile**.'

(Watch you don't get eaten by Egyptian crocodiles, there, Buneary. O,o)

**#15:** 'In fact, she was practically **art** '

(Lol, my massive fingers decided to press two keys at once and give Buneary the world's biggest ego.)

**#16:** 'Buizel huffed. "[Well… you asked for it.]" **He crossed his arms.'**

(No, don't! you're still holding Happiny! D: *Squish* Mariodeath .mp3)

**#17** "[Do you have a name like Math]"

("Yeah, it's English. And here's my friends, History and Science.")

**#18:** "[Max was a friend of our **trainer's** in Kanto,]"

(Their singular trainer. Either one of the Advanced trainers stole all the pokémon, or all the trainers did the fusion dance.)

**#19:** "[Oh, right you are, then, my **dead** 'Abigail'.]"

(Pfft. XD Whoops. Press F to pay some more respects.)

**#20:** "[Like Ambipom said, _I'll_ help you **with make** that name mean something~]"  
(You sound like you need help with make your grammar better.)

**#21:** 'Buneary giggled along with him. "[Thankfully, we know better, eh? **XP** ]"'

(Oh, God, no, I went full on into PM writing mode, apparently, eh? XD Reminds me of a character from RI2's fic, Latias' Journey, who always spoke in l33t speak, for some plot reason.)

**#22:** 'She fidgeted with her **nervously** fluff.'

(Who's more nervous, her or her fluff?)

**#23:** 'He huffed and harshly kicked **a weed a pebble** forwards,'

(I changed my mind between making him kick a pebble and a random weed - just for some scenery interactions to keep their walk interesting, - but I sort of forgot to delete the one I didn't use. Now Buizel's apparently turned into some kind of dealer.)

**#24:** 'all the sex ed **tuff,** '

(When that friend of Anime Kirby decides to teach the puffball about the birds and the bees, _this_ happens. Little does he know that Kirby has to eat something penis-related before his breeding ability kicks in, and Spanish Meta Knight appears to explain it like he's Brock, or something.)

**#25:** 'While his face went **wartmer** '

(Very gross.)

**#26:** "[With all these **tails** of woe, I think we need some cheering up with _your_ past!]"

(When you hack Sonic's best friend into Shadow The Hedgehog as a playable character, you get to play Tails Of Woe.)

Alright, that's all for now! Have a Happy New Year, paisanos, and tata for now! c:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Ophelia?


End file.
